


All I want for solstice is you 2

by Thisbirdhasflown



Series: All I want for solstice [2]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, solstice shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2015-01-06
Packaged: 2018-02-27 14:01:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 31,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2695679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisbirdhasflown/pseuds/Thisbirdhasflown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield got engaged almost a year ago during a Solstice holiday visit in the Shire. Now Bilbo is in Erebor and the wedding preparations are a bit more complicated than a simple gentle hobbit would have imagined. There is a lot to learn and many trousers to be fitted and somehow Bilbo can't seem to find a moment to be alone with Thorin and getting into a Solstice mood is also not possible. </p><p>I had so much fun writing the first part for this series last year, that I couldn't resist starting this again for this year. I hope I can actually keep up with it and publish one part for each Sunday in Advent. Hold your thumbs for me! </p><p>This is the second part of a series, so maybe you should check that one out first, otherwise you might stumble upon a few things that seem out of context. </p><p>And now let the happiness begin!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I will be lonely till Solstice

**Author's Note:**

> Unbetaed and published in a rush so it's probably teeming with mistakes. I just wanted to get the first chapter up today.

It was four weeks before the winter solstice and Bilbo Baggins, gentle hobbit of the Shire and soon to be married consort to Thorin Oakenshield, King under the mountain, was in a rather bad mood. He had arrived in Erebor three month ago and was still coming to terms with having to leave his neat little smial in the Shire with it’s comfortable rooms and large pantry. It wasn’t that his new rooms in Erebor weren’t good. On the contrary, his rooms in Erebor were probably the finest to be had, even Thorin’s own quarters two corridors down weren’t as splendid as Bilbo’s. 

He had a large living room to entertain guests, a small living room for himself, a bedroom, a room for his clothes, a dining room, a study and even a bathroom with a tub so big, that Bilbo had never even used it for fear of losing his footing and drowning. The furniture were of the finest dwarfish made, most of them black stone with green veins that were too heavy for Bilbo alone to move. At least the chairs were made from wood, albeit wood so dark and heavy that it could have been stone. Not that the furniture didn’t look nice and they were comfortable with many plush cushions, their covers made from fine silk dyed in dark, rich colours. But it got severely on Bilbo’s nerves that he couldn’t push the furniture around when he cleaned up and somehow all the dark wood and stone made the rooms seem crowded and darker than they already were. If only Bilbo could have had a window! But no. His quarters lay in the good part of Erebor, which meant very deep down in the earth, away from natural light. 

Bilbo and Thorin were to be married in four week, on Solstice to be exact, which at the moment added to the hobbit’s bad mood. He had not changed his mind about Thorin, oh no. He still loved the dwarf fiercely, probably more with each day and the thought that they would be together forever was what kept him going through the wedding preparations. Those were in fact the main reason for his bad mood. In the Shire they would have had a nice ceremony with only the closest family in his own living room and then a big wedding feast in the townhall or down by the Party tree, depending on the weather. 

But Bilbo had to fall in love with a king and now he had to sit through endless lessons on dwarfish etiquette, learning and forgetting the names of dignitaries that were to attend his wedding. He had to endure hours of clothes fitting, there were to be four outfits on his wedding day alone, something Bilbo thought to be more than just a tad excessive. And he had to sit still for the painting of portraits and carving of statues. It was enough to drive the most patient hobbit insane. 

If only he could have spent his evenings alone with Thorin, but no! The king was even more busy than Bilbo, not only had he sit thought the clothes fittings and portrait painting sessions himself, he had a wedding to organize and a kingdom to rule. He hardly had time to visit Bilbo at all and even when he did, he never stayed the night. Not that Thorin had not shown interest in that. After his wedding proposal in the Shire almost a year ago on last Solstice, Bilbo and Thorin had made love many times and it had been wonderful and amazing and Bilbo still smiled and blushed happily when he thought of the mornings waking up in his bedroom with the winter sun shining in coldly through the windows and looking at the sleeping form of his beloved Thorin next to him in bed. How he missed those mornings, when he had the luxury of having Thorin all for himself, watching the steady rise and fall of his broad chest, his dark hair fanning on the pillow, his face relaxed in sleep. But ever since Bilbo had come to Erebor they had not had a chance to be alone together, let alone to make love. It was dwarfish etiquette that the King and his consort did not engage in sexual activity before the wedding, that was how a slightly embarrassed Thorin had explained it to Bilbo under Balin’s watchful eye and that was that. Bilbo and Thorin were hardly ever left alone for more than a few minutes and even when they visited each other in their respective quarters there was always a guard nearby. More of a chaperone really, Bilbo thought miserably, because they had to leave the doors open when they were in a room together alone.  
Even kissing was frowned upon but Bilbo had told Balin point blank that he would turn round on his heel and walk back to the Shire alone if he wasn’t even allowed to kiss his betrothed when they had the chance to see each other for a few minutes. It didn’t help much that he got to at least kiss Thorin, to be honest it kind of made things worse. Because just when they would warm up to each other again after a day of being apart and having to endure their own impossible schedules, there would come a discreet cough from the door and they would have to stop, which meant leaving both of them breathless and aroused and with no opportunity to take care of the craving they had for each other. 

If only it was Solstice already and the wedding behind them, Bilbo thought for the hundredths time as he stood very still on a small stool while the tailor pinned up the hems of his trousers. It had been a hard fight to convince him to shorten the trousers to a length that was more comfortable for the hobbit and an even harder one to convince everybody else that Bilbo was under no circumstances going to wear shoes of any kind. It had actually taken Gandalf stepping in and taking Bilbo’s side to make the determined courtiers give in on that matter. Maybe that was the reason why they were making the rest of the wedding outfits as elaborate as possible. Only one of them was already finished and it was so heavily embroidered with goldthread that it felt almost like wearing chain mail. 

The outfit Bilbo was wearing now was his favourite so far. It wasn’t as heavy as the other ones and the cloth, deep green with beautiful light green stitching, went quite well with his dark blond locks. Bilbo looked at himself in the long mirror hanging on the wall opposite of him and thought that he did look quite nice. Hopefully Thorin would think the same. 

A small cough coming from the door distracted Bilbo from his thoughts and he turned his head to see who had come to visit. His face split into a large grin when he saw that it was Ori, standing a bit uncertainly by the door, a shy smile on his face. 

“Ori! So good to see you! Come in, come in, I think we’ll be finished here soon, won’t we?” Bilbo said and Tunin the tailor threw him a dark look. 

“I’m afraid not.” Tunin grumbled in his deep voice and put the last needle in the hem, leaning back to look at his work critically. “Since you insist on wearing your trousers this short, we will have to change the other ones as well. At least those for the wedding outfits and if we can manage it some others.” The tailor impatiently wiped a strand of dark brown hair out of his face and got up to get the next pair of trousers for Bilbo to put on. Bilbo rolled his eyes but didn’t comment. The trousers were also covered in stitching, some of it so fine you could hardly see them, which, as Balin had told him, was the point. Bilbo didn’t understand that, but he understood, that you couldn’t just shorten these kinds of trousers by cutting off a few inches and turning up the hem and that he had created a lot of extra work with his refusal to wear the longer trousers. He also understood, that he had to wear special clothes for the wedding. Important guests from other kingdoms were coming to the feast and he had to look like a fitting consort for a king. But why they insisted on making a whole new wardrobe for him, why he couldn’t wear his own clothes, which were perfectly fine and respectable, at other times was beyond him. 

“I can come by later.” Ori offered but Bilbo held him back. It was good to see a friendly face among all those courtiers who swarmed around him day and night and he didn’t want to let Ori go so quickly. 

“You just stay and chat with me while I stand still for Tunin. Will you please?” Bilbo begged and Ori squeezed his hand reassuringly and then sat down on a chair next to the stool Bilbo clambered back on, after carefully stepping out of the trousers with the needles in the hem and putting on the next pair. 

“So, how are you doing, Ori? How is everything going with the library?” Bilbo asked. Even six years after Erebor had been reclaimed, the big library holding every book that had ever been written in the dwarfish language, was still not accessible, it’s entrances hidden under tons of rock. Why Smaug had made the tunnels leading into the library cave in was everybody’s guess, but done it he had. Fili, who owed the idea of finally trying to get access to the invaluable knowledge to Bilbo, was leading the project of opening the tunnels up again. He had also started collecting books in other tongues than the dwarfish and had opened a new, much smaller library, containing all the new books and the ones that had not been buried in the old library. Ori had been involved in all that from the moment Fili had returned to Erebor after last Solstice and was now actually assistant to the head librarian, a job he was perfect for in Bilbo’s opinion.

Ori gave a sigh and weighed his head. „Oh, it’s going well, I suppose.“ he said.

Bilbo looked at him from the side and waited for more, but Ori was looking at an ink stain on his left thumb, apparently lost in thought. “So? Tell me a bit more.” Bilbo said when Ori didn’t continue on his own and Ori looked up and blinked his eyes in confusion. 

“Sorry, what?” he said and Bilbo smiled. “You were very far away for a moment, weren’t you? I would like to hear a bit more about the library please.” Bilbo said and Ori blushed. 

“Sorry, I am a tiny bit tired and I tend to get distracted.” The young dwarf excused himself. “How is it going? Well, Fili still hasn’t started with excavating the tunnels to the old library. He’s been going over statics and whatnot with his experts for months now. Even got some mining experts from the Iron Hills to look into things but all they do is squabble and so far they haven’t made a decision. We just had another meeting and they haven’t come much further. Again.”  
Ori’s forehead was creased into lines as he talked about the difficulties and Bilbo’s heart went out to him again. It was very touching how much Ori cared about books and knowledge and this had always been something that connected Bilbo with him. 

“But I hear the new library is a big success.” Bilbo interrupted Ori and then was scolded by Tunin for not standing still. 

Blushing again, Ori smiled. The new library was the project he was most involved in. “Yes, the new library is a bright spot in all that. We have managed to collect almost 1800 books that had been stacked all over Erebor. I guess there must be even more, but we haven’t got access to them. Some might be hidden or people don’t want to share.” Ori frowned shortly but then he continued and his face cleared up again. “And then there are the new books that Fili managed to buy. Oh, you have to come and see the ones that got in last weeks. Written by the elves but in the common tongue. The illuminations are exquisite! I almost cried when I first looked at them.”

Tunin tutted darkly, as he stuck another pin in the hem of Bilbo’s trousers. “What’s that, Tunin?” Bilbo asked. 

„Elvish books.“ Tunin growled, shaking his head and throwing Ori a look that clearly said what he thought about elvish books. 

Ori however wasn’t intimidated that easily anymore. He had grown up quite a lot in the years Bilbo had not seen him. “You shouldn’t turn your nose up on those elvish books. They are very smart. And I happen to know that one of the new books is about tailoring. You should have a look at that. I bet you can find something of interest in there.” He told the other dwarf and his tone of voice was gentle but firm. 

The tailor made a depreciative face but didn’t utter any more criticism against elves or their books, concentrating instead on the hem on Bilbo’s left leg. 

“Anyways, I didn’t have time to look at all of them, but I think one of them is about gardening. Fili said something like that I think.” Ori told Bilbo and the hobbit brightened up at that. 

“I’d like to see that book very much!” Bilbo said enthusiastically. A book about gardening and written by the elves! He really had to get his hands on that. Apart from his comfortable smial, Bilbo really missed the flowers from his garden. Maybe he even missed his beautiful garden more, because while his rooms in Erebor were really nice, there were no flower gardens around Erebor. The dwarves had a few fields where they grew very sturdy kinds of wheat and potatoes, but other than that they bought all their vegetables and fruit. 

Bilbo had be allowed to help with the potato harvest when he had first arrived, but digging up potatoes wasn’t the same as growing flowers and he sorely missed pottering around his small garden. If he could at least read a bit about gardening, that would definitely make up for not being able to actually do it. At least that was what Bilbo told himself. 

Tunin made an impatient noise as Bilbo fidgeted in his excitement and sat back on his haunches, looking up at the hobbit with an accusing scowl. “We will never be finished with these trousers if you don’t stand still. I almost pinned that last pin in your leg.”

Bilbo looked down at him, smiling ruefully. “I’m sorry Tunin. I will stand still now.”

Ori had gotten up meanwhile, obviously meaning to leave. “I’m sorry as well, I distracted you. And I’m sorry for having to leave now. But Dori is waiting with supper at home and he scolds somewhat fiercely if I’m late.”

Bilbo suppressed a grin, some things never changed. Even though Ori now held a very important position and had gained confidence with it, his older brother still seemed to look after him like a very pompous mother hen. “Please come visit me again soon, Ori. And maybe you could put that book about gardening to the side for me? I’d really love to have a look at that.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Ori said with a smile and then left Bilbo, who had to endure another half hour of standing still while Tunin pinned up the hem of yet another pair of trousers. 

“That’s it for today Master hobbit.” The tailor finally said and Bilbo hopped off the stool with relief. His relief didn’t last long however because just when he had put on his own trousers again there came a knock on the door and Balin came in. Bilbo had always gotten on very well with the old dwarf, but nowadays he didn’t enjoy his sight much. Because Balin visiting him usually meant more lessons in dwarfish etiquette and Bilbo was heartily sick of those. He smiled nevertheless and greeted the dwarf politely in the manner he had been taught. 

Balin’s face split into a smile as he took note of the formal greeting in Khuzdul and even Tunin, who was collecting and packing up his things, made an appreciative hum behind Bilbo’s back at the sound of Bilbo’s careful pronunciation.

“You’re getting better every day, Bilbo!” Balin praised him and Bilbo smiled and bowed slightly. He felt a bit like a dog, getting a treat for a trick well done but he knew Balin meant well and only tried to make things a bit easier for Bilbo. 

“Come and have a seat Balin.” Bilbo said and motioned to the door of the smaller living room. Tunin said goodbye and left with his arms full of clothes while Bilbo and Balin settled down in two armchairs by the hearth. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” he asked, fearing another lecture. Balin wasn’t carrying books around today, so heraldry or lessons in khuzdul were out. 

“Oh, today I just came to see you.” Balin said and Bilbo looked at him in surprise. It had been a while since Balin had come round just for a little chat and Bilbo couldn’t quite believe his luck. No annoying lessons today it seemed. He settled back in his chair with a smile and relaxed. 

They had been chatting comfortably for maybe ten minutes when a knock on the door announced yet another visitor. “It seems that I’m very popular today.” Bilbo said and got up to answer the door. Standing on his threshhold, with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face was Thorin. “Oh! Thorin! It’s you!” Bilbo exclaimed and reached out his hands to pull the dwarf into a tight hug. It had been two days since he had last seen his soon-to-be husband and he had missed the dwarf somewhat fiercely. Burying his face in the deep blue material of Thorin’s vest, Bilbo breathed in deeply, trying to refresh the memory of Thorin’s smell again.  
“Good evening, my burglar.” Thorin’s voice rumbled pleasantly through his chest, his arms around Bilbo and then he pressed a kiss to the top of Bilbo’s head, the only spot he could at the moment reach with his lips. 

Bilbo finally lifted his head and looked up at the dwarf, who smiled gently. “Thorin, I’m not a burglar any more. I’m a very respectable gentlehobbit from the Shire and soon to be consort of a king. It is not fitting that you keep calling me burglar. Imagine what all the dignitaries would say if you addressed me as burglar at our wedding.” Bilbo teased and Thorin made a face. 

“Oh, those dignitaries can go and boil their heads.” The dwarf said and let go of Bilbo’s waist, only to cup his face in his large hands. “You are my burglar and I will call you that as long as I want, fitting or not. I mean, as long as you allow me to call you burglar. I wouldn’t do that if you objected.”  
Bilbo rolled his eyes but didn’t object and Thorin used the opportunity to lean down and place a soft kiss on the hobbit’s lips. When Thorin moved away Bilbo smiled.  
“Seems to me you are the burglar, stealing kisses in the hallway like that.”

Thorin laughed his deep laugh, a sound Bilbo liked to hear so much and brushed a strand of hair away from Bilbo’s forehead. “Well, you haven’t invited me in, so I thought I’d make the best of standing on your doorstep.” 

“Oh, where are my manners? Come in, come in. I’m just having a little chat with Balin.” Bilbo said and pulled Thorin along. The dwarf however stopped dead when he heard the name of his advisor. “Balin is here? But I thought… Oh well, never mind.” And he followed Bilbo to his small livingroom.

The look of chagrin Balin wore as Thorin entered was easily interpreted by Bilbo. Balin, who knew Thorin’s daily schedule by heart, was indeed in charge of it, had obviously spotted a free period in it and concluded correctly that the king would use the chance to slip away and visit his fiancé. So Balin had gone ahead to prevent the two of them being together unsupervised. 

“Your majesty.” Balin said politely and got up from the chair by the fire, making room for Thorin.

“Balin.” Thorin answered and gave him a grave nod. Bilbo looked from one to the other and gave a sigh. “Well, now that we are all here, why don’t we sit down together and talk about the wedding. I think there are still some things that need to be cleared up. It’s quite fortunate that we three should meet so unexpectedly.”  
Balin chuckled ruefullye and gave Bilbo’s shoulder a small pat. “You are quite the diplomat, Bilbo.”

Making a face, Bilbo settled back in his chair. “It’s not like I have much of a choice, surrounded by stubborn dwarves as I am.” While Thorin sat down in the chair that Balin had vacated, Balin went to get himself another one and then pushed it between Thorin’s and Bilbo’s chair, giving Bilbo an embarrassed look out of the corner of his eye. 

“So, there is still the matter of seating at the wedding banquet to be settled. Now, I understand that you have to put the dignitaries in good seats but I won’t have my relatives pushed down the table just so that Dain or Thranduil can sit next to Thorin and me. I just won’t have it.” Bilbo crossed his arms and looked stubbornly at Balin. The matter of the seating had been a matter of conflict between him and Balin for at least a week now, ever since Bilbo had first seen the seating plan.  
The old dwarf spread his hands in a gesture of supplication. „Bilbo, I know that. But it’s a royal wedding. It’s an act of state. We have to put these important guest in seats of honor.“

Bilbo looked at Thorin with a pleading expression. „What do you say to that?“

Thorin put his dark head to the side and looked thoughtful. “Well, I have to say that the thought of having both Dain and that elf sitting near us during our wedding feast isn’t one I enjoy much. Let me think.” He closed his eyes and creased his forehead. Bilbo and Balin exchanged a look but kept quiet. While Thorin thought, Balin inspected his fingernails and Bilbo inspected Thorin. After reclaiming Erebor, Thorin had let his beard grown and it was now so long, it touched his chest. While there were a few grey strands on his head, the beard was still dark and today braided in three braids, ending in mithril clasps, inlayed with rubies. The rich blue colour of his embroidered vest and shirt made a nice background for the clasps but Bilbo didn’t care much about that. Thorin’s face would always be the most beautiful thing in the world for him, much prettier indeed than some shiny baubles. Thorin would always be the most handsome person Bilbo had ever seen, be it among hobbits, men, elves or dwarves. And then a smile spread over his face and Thorin opened his eyes again, now sparkling with humour. 

“I think I have a solution. We’ll put the elf next to my sister. And Dain can sit next to Fili. I think that’s enough honour for both of them. They’ll still be at the first table, just not directly next to us. Bilbo is right, it’s our wedding and he should have his family close to him. Who do you want on your side?” Thorin asked, turning to Bilbo.

“My grandmother.” Bilbo said after thinking for a few moments. 

“Wonderful, your grandmother it is then.” Thorin said. “Balin, please make a note of that.”

Weighing his head thoughtfully, Balin made a face that told Bilbo that this was not it. “Your majesty, while I understand the sentiment behind this, this is most unusual…”

But Thorin interrupted him, his voice allowing no argument. “My husband-to-be is a most unusual hobbit. He helped reclaim our home, facing dangers that many dwarves refused to face. You know that as well as I do, Balin, you were there. We will forever be in his debt and we will make this small concession to his wishes. Who else would you like seated at the table of honour?” Thorin turned to Bilbo again, ignoring Balin’s waving hands.

“Thorin!” Balin interrupted, before Bilbo could say anything else. “This is going to throw the whole seating arrangement into the forges! We spent ages arranging it, so that nobody could complain. We only have four weeks left till the wedding and there are still enough other things to deal with. And now you want me to rearrange this as well?!”

The white beard of the old dwarf almost bristled with indignation and Bilbo felt a bit sorry for him. But it was his own fault. Bilbo had tried to talk about this for ages and Balin just wouldn’t listen. 

“Yes, Balin, I want you to rearrange the seating as well.” Thorin told him levelly and Balin, with a look of deep resentment, gave in.  
“As you wish, your majesty.” Balin said and went to get a piece of paper and a quill from Bilbo’s writing desk to start jotting down the people that had to be seated at the high table. It took them twenty more minutes to haggle over people and seats and then Balin, with a heavy sigh and a paper now covered in names and cross outs excused himself to start juggling seats some more. 

“Balin,” Thorin held him up as the dwarf was about to leave the room, “you know you can delegate some of the tasks to other people. I’m not expecting you to do everything yourself.”

Balin stopped with his hand on the doorhandle and then turned round again. “I know your majesty. But it is an honour. I really want to do this. For you Thorin. And for you Bilbo.” The whiteheaded dwarf gave them both a tender smile and then bowed deeply before leaving the room. The door he left open. Bilbo rolled his eyes.  
„Alone at last.“ Thorin said with a sly smile as he turned back to him, his blue eyes glinting wickedly in the firelight from the crate as he leaned forward to touch Bilbo’s knee, but at that moment there was a commotion at the door and then Kili bounded into the room, a broad smile on his face as he laid eyes on his uncle and Bilbo. Kili wore blue like his uncle and with his beard grown long and his hair in neat braids for once, he looked very similar to the older dwarf. “Thorin! Bilbo!” Kili exclaimed and despite his annoyance of being disturbed again Bilbo smiled at Kili. You just had to smile at Kili when he himself smiled like that. 

“Hello Kili.” Thorin said and leaned back in his chair, his voice sounding resigned. Kili didn’t seem to notice. He gave his uncle a heavy pat on the back, touched Bilbo’s shoulder very gently and then sat down in the chair Balin had vacated. “I ran into Balin at the door.” Kili told them cheerfully as he stretched his legs out in front of him. 

“Yes, we were just talking about the seating at the wedding.” Bilbo told the young dwarf, who made a face. He wasn’t very big on ceremonials and shared Bilbo’s dislike of the elaborate preparations that, as nephew of the king, also took up much of his time. 

“That explains Balin’s face.” Kili said with a laugh. 

“So, what brings you here, Kili?“ Thorin asked rather abruptly and Bilbo had to hide a smile. Thorin was many things, but not the best diplomat and subtlety was definitely not his greatest strength. The less than delicate hint was lost on Kili however, who, like his uncle, could be very oblivious at times.  
“I wanted to visit Bilbo. Haven’t seen him in days. Thought I’d pop round for a chat.” Kili said innocently. It was true, Bilbo had not seen Kili for a few days, but unlike his older brother, who actually made a point of visiting Bilbo every other day just for a short chat, Kili usually had a specific purpose when he came round.  
Bilbo however didn’t feel like engaging in one of Kili’s strange schemes today. “Well, it’s really nice of you to visit, but I’ve had a rather long day and I was going to turn in…” he let the sentence trail away but Kili seemed to get his meaning. His face turned apologetic and he immediately got up. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Bilbo. Of course we’ll leave you to rest. Come on, uncle, your fiancé is tired and needs his sleep.”

Thorin, who had expected Kili to leave, so he could spent a few more minutes alone with Bilbo, looked surprised by the sudden turn of events. He had certainly not expected to be thrown out of his hobbit’s room by his own nephew. When Thorin didn’t get up, Kili tugged on his sleeve. “Uncle, come on. Bilbo wants to go to bed.” He said.

Seeing as the younger dwarf was not going to be dissuaded, Thorin did get up with an annoyed roll of his eyes, giving Bilbo a helpless look, that was answered with a helpless look of Bilbo’s own. “I’ll bring you to the door.” The hobbit said with a sigh and followed the dwarves. Kili touched his shoulder gently again and then stood waiting in the hall next to the door. Trying to ignore this unexpected chaperone, Bilbo took hold of the front of Thorin’s vest and then stood on tiptoe to give the dwarf a soft kiss on the lips. “Goodnight, Thorin.” He said. Sinking back on his heels Bilbo straightened the crinkles he had created in the fabric, brushing his hands over Thorin’s chest a bit longer than strictly necessary to achieve the job. Thorin gave him a warm smile and leaned down to give the kiss back. “Goodnight, Bilbo.”  
They smiled at each other a bit more. Then Kili gave a tiny cough, which successfully reminded both Bilbo and Thorin that they were not alone. With a last wistful look, Thorin finally turned and walked down the corridor in the direction of his rooms, with Kili on his heels chatting away about his latest training session with Dwalin. 

Bilbo watched the two dwarves walk away till they turned a corner and were out of sight and then closed his door. He leaned his back against it and frowned at his lovely but empty room. Another lonely night lay before him, followed by a day of trying on clothes he didn’t particularly like and learning things he didn’t particularly care about. And worst of all, another day of only seeing glimpses of his beloved Thorin and not being able to talk to him properly. If only Solstice was already over.


	2. A sleigh ride together with you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bilbo's schedule is still full, the wedding vows are proving to be a right nightmare, Kili is pulling him into one of his schemes and suddenly Bilbo thinks he has a relationship to save. Luckily it's not his own, because Thorin is full of surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thanks to all of you for reading and giving kudos and commenting. You guys all rock!
> 
> Second of all, this chapter ran away with me again. Just like last year I started with the idea of writing something short for each Sunday. Aparantly I can't do short. Oh well. And again I started some plotlines that I hope I can finish in a satisfactory manner. Hold your thumbs! And now off we go.

Bilbo was woken up the next morning by his usual wake-up call and bad temperedly scrambled out of bed. He wasn’t even a particularly late riser but since the wedding preparations had really started a few weeks ago, he was woken up every morning without fail at a quarter to seven, which was a time he only liked to experience once a day and that was in the evening.

He wrapped himself in his bath robe and patted over to the living room, where a fire had already been lit in the crate and his breakfast was waiting for him on the table. There was nothing to complain about that, the tea was hot and strong, the porridge sweetened with the right amount of honey and a slight dab of fresh cream was melting on top of it. But Bilbo would have loved to make his own breakfast. In fact, being waited on hand and foot made Bilbo feel highly uncomfortable. He’d had a few discussions with the dwarves that had been assigned to serve him, but nothing he had said seemed to have made a real difference, they just kept more out of sight so Bilbo couldn’t try and send them away. 

He ate his porridge without real enjoyment and then went to wash and get dressed. When he emerged from the bathroom again, he shot a quick look into his bedroom and noticed with annoyance that somebody had used his stay in the bathroom to make his bed. Bilbo frowned, but then there was a knock at the door and when Bilbo turned round and went back to the living room, he found Balin already waiting for him there. “Good morning, Bilbo.” Balin greeted him with a small bow and smile and Bilbo bowed back, but didn’t smile. 

“Balin, I know we talked about this before, but can’t you do something about those dwarves that keep sneaking in here to make my bed?” he asked and Balin’s bushy eyebrows shot up in alarm. They had indeed been talking about this and not once had those conversations gone well. 

“Bilbo, you are the king’s consort…” Balin started his old argument again and Bilbo threw up his hands in annoyance. “I know! But I can make my own bed! I like to make my own bed! And since we are talking about it, I like to cook as well. You told me, when I first arrived, that it would be no problem to install a small kitchen in my apartment. And now it’s three month later and nothing has been done about it. Can’t those dwarves that come and fluff up my pillows, spend their time putting a kitchen in here instead?” Bilbo asked, not missing the grimace that crossed Balin’s face. 

“About that…Apparently I was wrong when I told you these rooms could be equipped with a kitchen. You see, they belonged to the venerable grandmother of Thror and her husband made a decree to never have them altered after she died. I’m very sorry, Bilbo.” Balin actually looked like he was sorry, which made it much harder for Bilbo to be angry at him. 

“Then why can’t I move to another set of rooms?” Bilbo asked and made a turn on his carpet. Never in his life had he been one to walk in circles when he was agitated or angry, but living in Erebor had taken it’s toll on his nerves and he found the movement soothing. 

Of course, Balin had an objection to this as well. “I’m sorry, Bilbo, but these are the quarters for the king’s consort.” And that seemed to settle the matter for him.  
“There’s a decree saying that the king’s consort has to live in these rooms, isn’t there?” Bilbo asked through gritted teeth and Balin nodded. It was lucky for him that there was a knock on the door, or Bilbo would have thrown something at him. The knock however distracted Bilbo and Balin made a step to the side and went to open the door. 

“Ah, good morning Balin, good morning Bilbo.” came the velvety deep voice of Dis from the door. “Can I come in?” Thorin’s sister stood at Bilbo’s door, dressed in a simple and worn dress of what must once have been a deep red colour under a heavy leather apron, her beard and hair were braided in a simple style, in fact they were still thrown over her shoulder to be out of the way in the forges, from where she had obviously just come. The smudge of dirt on her cheek made her look very adventurous indeed.

“Of course, Lady Dis. Come in!” Bilbo said and Dis stepped into the room with a bright smile. When Bilbo had arrived in Erebor he had been very eager to finally meet Thorin’s sister and they had stuck up a fast friendship in the short time he had been here. She had the same stubborn character as Thorin but unlike him also a healthy streak of mischief. When she looked at Balin however, the smile she had just been wearing disappeared.

“Balin, I’ve been looking for you. My son has just informed me that I’m going to sit next to the elven king during the wedding feast.” she said and speared the old dwarf with a stern look. 

“Which son?” Balin asked, his brows knitted in irritation. 

“Does that matter?” Dis asked and Balin weighed his head. “Fili, if you must know. And he was not happy to see that he is sitting next to Dain. Bofur was to sit next to him. It is the first opportunity since they started their courtship to have him officially by his side and Fili was most vexed to find that he’ll have Dain instead.”  
Bilbo started feeling guilty. Not for Dis, who could handle sitting next to Thranduil. She was a most charming conversant when she was in the mood and unlike Thorin had enough tact to manage a dinner without insulting the people sitting next to her. But Bilbo certainly hadn’t wanted to cause Fili and Bofur any heartache. He had been very happy to see the two dwarves get together at his home in the Shire on last solstice and wanted them to continue their courtship in nothing but happy bliss. 

“Bofur will be sitting next to Fili.” Balin interrupted Dis rant, only to be interrupted himself. “Yes, but not on his left side as he should.” Dis said brusquely, indignated on behalf of her son and his partner. 

“I’m sorry my lady, but Thorin forced me to change the seating on short notice and I really don’t know where to put those two if not next to you and Fili. You are very welcome to look at the plan yourself and offer a fitting alternative.” Now Balin actually sounded quite terse himself, which also made Bilbo feel rather bad. Not really for wanting a change in the seating arrangement, but for having caused so much discord. 

Dis narrowed her eyes at Balin. “I will have a look. In fact, we’ll both have a look.”

With a polite bow Balin answered “Of course. As soon as my duties allow me to, I’ll tend to your wishes.” When he straightened up again, Dis looked at him with a calculating gaze and then nodded. “Alright. I’ll see you later then. Bilbo, maybe we can have tea this afternoon?” she turned from the dwarf to the hobbit again and Bilbo smiled. “I would be delighted. If my schedule allows this of course?” he looked at Balin, who nodded. 

The smile on Dis face made her look like Thorin. “Lovely! I’ll see you in my quarters then.” With that she strode from the room, her back straight and her head held high, looking very much like a queen if it hadn’t been for the old dress with a singe on the back and the leather apron wrapped around her.

Balin sighed heavily, taking out a small notebook and scribbling something in it. Then he snapped the book shut and looked at Bilbo. “Alright, another lesson in Khuzdul on the schedule today. We have to start on teaching you the traditional wedding vows and then there is another clothes fitting before you have lunch with some guests from Dale. Then we have to go over those names you learned again and then you’ll have your tea with Dis.”

Bilbo squared his shoulders and then rubbed his hands. “Very well, let’s get started.” It was going to be a long day. And indeed, when he arrived at the door to Dis’ quarters in the late afternoon, his head was buzzing with all the things he had learned today and he was rather tired. Especially the wedding vows were giving Bilbo problems. He had started to learn Khuzdul a year ago and still found it very difficult, even though he was starting to feel more confident with his pronunciation. At the wedding however, he would be required to recite a very long ceremonial vow in Khuzdul, laced with complicated legal terms and the thought of bungling that up in front of the whole kingdom made Bilbo break out in cold sweat. 

He knocked on the door and entered after hearing Dis call from inside. She had changed into different clothes, although the brown dress she was now wearing was also an old one. At least it wasn’t singed. Bilbo had discovered with some surprise that the dwarven princess did not care much about clothes and jewels and was nothing like Bilbo had imagined a princess to be. Instead she spent much of her time either in the forges, teaching basic smithing techniques to dwarflings, for which she said she didn’t need pretty clothes, or in the council chambers where she claimed pretty clothes were also not necessary. 

Now she greeted Bilbo with a smile and gestured him to take a seat by the fire, where on a low table already stood the tea things. Dis’ quarters were very similar to Bilbo’s, she just had had more time to have added a more personal touch to the rooms with some knick knacks. “So, how was your day with Balin?” Dis asked, her eyes twinkling. Bilbo groaned. “Wedding vows. Don’t ask.” he said and gratefully accepted the cup of tea Dis offered him. 

“I can imagine.” Dis commented dryly. “My wedding vows weren’t half as elaborate as the ones you’ll have to rattle off. Still, I gave my best and recited them as prettily as possible. And then along came my Reni and mumbled his way through his. Didn’t understand half of what he said. But nobody even commented on it. They had probably already tuned out. It’ll probably be the same with you. By the time Thorin is finished with his vows, nobody is going to listen anyways. Just mumble a bit and you’ll be alright.” She winked at Bilbo who snorted and raised his cup to her. 

The first sip of sweet, strong tea went down like an elixir of life and Bilbo leaned back in his chair with a sigh of pleasure. If only he could have a little something with his tea, but Dis didn’t care for pastries and always forgot to offer her guests some. Unless you downright asked for it, you never got anything along with your tea from Dis. Despite the lack of nibbles, Bilbo still liked having tea with Dis. She put things back into perspective. 

Opening his eyes again, Bilbo looked over his cup to Dis. “How about you? How was your day?”

Dis smiled. “Lovely. My newest apprentice is showing great promise. She’ll make a master smith one day. Oh, and I ran into Thorin, he looked harassed, but when I told him we were having tea together today, he said he might drop in as well.”

The thought of seeing Thorin made Bilbo sit up straighter. “That’s lovely! I feel like I see less and less of him, the closer we get to the wedding.”  
Laughing at his sad face, Dis leaned forward and patted his knee. “You’ll see enough of him once you’re married. I bet you’ll think with some longing of the days when you only had to endure his presence for a few minutes every day.”

“Never!” Bilbo exclaimed and shook his head, making Dis giggle. “Ah, well. A sister can never appreciate her brother the way he deserves.”

They shared a smile and then the door banged open. Instead of the awaited Thorin however, it was Kili striding into the room. “Hello Bilbo! Hello Ma.” He rushed over to kiss his mother on the cheek and got a swat to the back off his head for his troubles. 

“Can you never enter a room without making dents in the door?” Dis scolded him and Kili ducked his head in an apologetic way. “Sorry Ma.” He said and then grabbed himself a pillow to sit on the ground next to his mother’s chair, leaning against her legs. 

Dis poured another cup of tea and reached it down to her son. “Aaah, lovely!” Kili said. “You know, I never used to like tea but after spending last Solstice at Bilbo’s I really got into the thing. Only thing that’s missing is some cookies.” Kili’s face fell, only to brighten up immediately when a thought seemed to have struck him. “Oi! I have an idea! Why don’t we make some?” He looked up at Bilbo hopefully.

Making cookies had been an important part of preparing for solstice for Bilbo. Although he loved his favourite recipes and could have easily made them any time he wanted, he never made the solstice cookies at any other time of year. That way they had always remained special. This year he had resigned himself to not being able to make any. For one thing he was so busy every day that he hardly had the time to see Thorin, so making cookies was definitely not on the top of his list of things to do. For another thing he lacked a kitchen in which to prepare the dough and bake the cookies. He didn’t even know where his cookie cutters had disappeared to, because some of the boxes and crates that had been trundled all the way from the Shire to the Lonely Mountain had gone missing. Balin had assured Bilbo, that everything he had packed at arrived at Erebor, but somehow some of Bilbo’s belongings had been put somewhere else and tracking them down had proved rather difficult. Only last week Bilbo had received one box of books, that had apparently been delivered to the armoury, where nobody had bothered to open it and check what was inside. Shaking his head sadly, Bilbo looked at Kili with a soft smile. 

“That would be lovely, but for one thing my cookie cutters haven’t reappeared yet and then I don’t have a kitchen.”

Kili raised his eyebrows in a dead on imitation of his older brother when he couldn’t believe how stupid somebody else was. “Well, first thing, I still have the cookie cutters you gave me last solstice and secondly, we can just go to the kitchens and make the cookies there. I bet the cooks won’t mind.”

The light shining in Kili’s eyes as he said this didn’t help convince Bilbo. “I already tried going to the kitchens once. They…they sent me away. Said they could under no circumstances allow the king’s consort to be in there.” It had indeed been a sad little episode in Bilbo’s second week in Erebor. He had been feeling a bit homesick and lonely and since Thorin had been busy again, he had just ventured forth into the kitchens, thinking about making himself something to eat for a change. Later he couldn’t really say what he had expected. Surely not being practically manhandled out of the large hall that housed the kitchens almost as soon as he had stepped in. But that was exactly what had happened. The head chef had been trying to be friendly about the whole thing, but from the way her beard bristled and her eyes practically sparked with suppressed anger, Bilbo was sure that had he not been the king’s intended, she would have probably chopped off at least one finger with the large knife on her belt. Bilbo had not mentioned this to Thorin, he had been complaining about a lot of things in those first weeks and didn’t want to add a new thing. He had just stayed away from the kitchens in the future. 

Dis sat up, her beautiful face set in a frown when she heard Bilbo’s dejected tone. “What? That is ridiculous. Why would they send you away?”

Feeling embarrassed that he had brought it up, Bilbo nevertheless explained. “There was a decree, apparently, that no consort is to enter the kitchens. I think one did and cut himself badly with a knife and so his queen forbade it from then on.” At least that was what the cook had told him. But having seen the ridiculous decrees that regulated his own life, Bilbo was sure that this was an actual one as well. 

“Well, I think that’s one decree we are going to ignore.” Kili said cheerfully. “Here’s what we’ll do. I will go to the kitchen tonight and prepare the dough. Still got that recipe of yours as well.” He reminded Bilbo when the hobbit had made appearances of interjecting. “And then we’ll sneak you in tomorrow and just make the cookies. Come on, Bilbo, it’ll be fun. Just like last solstice. Oh, I have such a good plan! This will work like a charm. And then there will be cookies!” Kili exclaimed, throwing his arms wide and smiling brightly. 

“You can’t be serious!” Bilbo said with a laugh, trying to laugh the situation away, but Kili nodded eagerly. ”Course I am. I am a very serious dwarf. Well. Ok, not that serious. But I am about this.” Seriousness looked Bilbo in the face and he felt something like apprehension settle in his stomach. This could only lead to trouble.  
Bilbo looked to Dis for help but she for one seemed to think the plan was a good one. Kili had not only inherited her lovely brown eyes, but also her love of mischief and the grin on her face told Bilbo he would have to go along with this. He was a bit afraid of the cook, but Dis and Kili were the more formidable opponents.  
Still he tried to curb Kili’s enthusiasm. “Kili, I’m really not sure…”

“Oh nonsense.” Kili waved his objection away carelessly, spilling half a cup of tea over himself. “Ah, drat, that was Fili’s vest. He’s going to kick me. Eh, well. No, really, Bilbo. You said you always make cookies before solstice. Don’t you want to make cookies?”

Two sets of big, brown eyes looked at Bilbo and he caved under their puppy dog stare. And actually, he really wanted to make cookies and the cook could go and boil her head. Hopefully she wouldn’t get hold of Bilbo and boil his. “Alright, if you find a way to sneak me in, we’ll do this. But I won’t be able to manage it before five pm. My schedule is terrible!”

“No worries.” Kili said as he got up from the floor. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow, five o’clock sharp. Oh, it’ll be so much fun!” he said again. Then he gave his mother a kiss, ruffled through Bilbo’s hair and scampered out of the room. 

“I hope he doesn’t get me killed.” Bilbo said to Dis, who laughed and poured him another cup. At that moment there was a commotion at the entrance to Dis’ quarters and then Thorin stepped into the room, looking slightly annoyed. His mien cleared up as soon as he laid eyes on Bilbo. “Hello, my burglar!” he said and Bilbo got up to hug him. “Hello, my favourite dwarf.” he said into the front of Thorin’s shirt. 

“Aww, and I thought that was me.” Dis commented sweetly from behind his back, but Bilbo ignored her and turned his face up to smile at Thorin. “I can’t believe my own luck, it’s been only a day since I last saw you.”

Thorin chuckled ruefully and carded his fingers through Bilbo’s hair. “I know what you mean.” He said and gave Bilbo a soft kiss that became a not so soft kiss and would definitely have turned into something else entirely had not Dis coughed rather loudly. “I shall leave you two to it then?” she said and Bilbo, who had sunk back on his heels with reluctance, nodded absentmindedly. “Yes, that would be very nice of you.”

The snort coming from Dis managed to pull him back to reality and he smiled to see the look on Thorin’s face. He clearly didn’t like Dis kind of humour. “Well, I’m not going to. Before I got married, my lovely older brother here made sure that I never spent a second alone with my beloved. Not that Reni would have tried anything. He was always so polite. Anyways, I’m going to do Thorin the same honour now. So back off you two, or I’ll throw water on you.”

With a grimace in his sister’s direction, Thorin did let go of Bilbo and seated himself opposite of Dis. “If I recall correctly, that is what grandfather did, when he found you and your polite Reni snogging behind the ring mail rack in the armoury.” he said, a special note of viciousness in his voice that he always reserved for his sister.  
Bilbo threw Dis a surprised look and then giggled when she shrugged. “It was worth it. He was a good kisser.” 

***

The next day brought Bilbo to the library for a lesson in etiquette. He had been wondering why Balin wanted to do this in the library rather than in Bilbo’s quarters, but when he saw the sheer amount of books that Balin had stacked on a table, he knew why. The old dwarf had just not wanted to lug them around the mountain. Or maybe Ori had not allowed him to loan so many books at one time. 

The young assistant librarian greeted Bilbo at the door of the library, a quill behind his ear and a shy smile on his face. “How lovely to see you again, Bilbo!” Ori said in a whisper. 

“Ah! Bilbo!“ Balin said loudly. Ori turned round with a stern look on his face and shushed him. “This is a library, Balin.” he said and Bilbo stifled a giggle at the look of chagrin on Balin’s face. “I’ll leave you two to it then. If you need anything, just ask me. I’ll be over there.” Ori pointed to a corner of the room, where a large desk was almost hidden under and behind the books and scrolls that had been heaped on it and stacked around it. 

It turned out to be a very boring morning, with Balin and Bilbo pouring over dusty volumes and Balin pointing out cross references on why something had become common practice among dwarves and how this had been traced down by historians. When Kili turned up in the library, Bilbo was actually relieved to see him, if only because he was going to cause a small distraction. Kili stood in the door for a moment, looking around like he was searching for someone and then came over to their desk. “Morning Bilbo. Balin.” He said. 

“Hello Kili!” Bilbo greeted him. 

“Kili! A rare sight, you in the library.” Balin said, but Kili chose to overhear the small sting.

“I came to see Bilbo.” he answered lightly. It didn’t ring quite true, Bilbo suddenly realised. Kili had been able to see them perfectly from the door, yet he had hesitated and looked around. Who had he been really looking for?

But Kili gave him a conspiratorial smile and leaned closer. “Just wanted to let you know, that everything is going to plan and I’ll see you later.” 

Bilbo would have loved to slap his hand to his forehead. Or better, to Kili’s forehead. The boy had no brains. Saying something like this in front of Balin. And of course, the dwarf looked up from the book he had been paging through, giving Bilbo a sharp look. “What plan?” he asked. 

„Oh, you know, just that I’m free tonight. Managed to cancel my sparing with Fili, so that I can have a chat with Bilbo here.“ Kili said offhandedly, leaning his hip against the desk and casting a look around the room again. 

“Have you now?” Balin said suspiciously and Kili nodded. “Well, Fili can confirm that then, can’t he?” Balin went on and then Bilbo saw Fili walking into the room. Sometimes Bilbo forgot that Fili had lost an eye in the Battle of the Five Armies and so the eyepatch over his eye still made him start at times. At least Fili had now come to terms with it and didn’t seem to be bothered by it any more. He strode over to the small group, his step as confident as ever and Bilbo smiled when he finally stood in front of the table. Now that Bilbo could look at Fili properly he saw that instead of the mithril beads that Kili had attached to the braids in his hair, Fili was wearing wooden beads in his hair and beard, clearly a present from Bofur. On his fair hair, the dark wood actually made a much nicer contrast as the glittering mithril might have made. 

Fili smiled at Bilbo and then frowned at Kili. “Didn’t you say you were very busy today and that’s why you have to cancel sparing? And now I find you here, chatting with Balin and Bilbo.”

Balin raised his eyebrows and looked from Fili to Kili. 

“Hey, I just came here to tell Bilbo I’ll be seeing him later today. I haven’t seen him in ages and I thought that is more important that sword practice. And I’m not a dwarfling who needs training all the time.” Kili told his brother indignantly. His voice did sound a bit childish as he did so. 

Since neither of the two princes had bothered to keep their voices down, Ori had been alerted to their presence and now came over as well. “This is a library!” he chided in a whisper, that was bordering on turning into something louder. “Fili, you know better than that. This whole library is your own project!” 

Puffing in annoyance Ori arrived next to Fili, who looked apologetic. Kili in the other hand just smiled broadly and clapped a large hand on Ori’s shoulder. “But Ori! There’s nobody here but us! We’re not disturbing anyone. Come on, loosen up.” He grabbed Ori and shook him playfully, but Ori, sagging slightly under the half embrace of the much taller and heavier dwarf, shock his head resolutely. 

“It’s the principle of the thing.” He said and vainly tried to extricate himself from Kili’s half nelson. “You always speak of principles , you almost sound like Balin. You just watch it, or you’ll end up on Thorin’s council in no time.” Kili answered him, ignoring Ori’s increasingly weak attempts to pluck the hand from his shoulder. 

“I feel I’m much better suited for my current position.” the young dwarf said and Fili smiled. His brother however laughed and looked down on the dwarf trapped under his arm. “Oh Ori, you surely are. Best librarian in the whole kingdom.” 

Ori’s ears were rather red now and he had lost all the confidence Bilbo had seen him usually display in the library. Actually, he reminded Bilbo much of the Ori he had met more than six years ago. Kili, with his boisterous character, had always seemed to have the effect of intimidating the younger dwarf and it seemed that despite all his new courage and self esteem, Ori had not gotten over that. 

“Leave him be.” Fili ordered his brother, who finally let go of Ori. The young dwarf straightened his shirt and edged away from Kili. “Well, as I said, please don’t be so loud.” he told the small group again and then walked back to his table. While Fili turned to Bilbo again, Kili pushed his bottomlip forward, a clear sign that he was thinking and watched Ori leave. He only turned back to Bilbo, when Fili nudged him in the side. “You afraid Ori might pounce on you, when you turn your back?” he asked. 

“Huh? What? Nono, I was just thinking… Nevermind. Well, I’m off then.” Kili said and then did turn and leave. Fili shock his head and then smiled at Bilbo. “So you’ll be entertaining my brother tonight?”

Bilbo shrugged. “It seems so. He always does that, inviting himself.” It was probably better not to let Fili in on their plan to get into the kitchen later. Kili seemed not to have done it at least and if he judged that his brother might intervene, than Bilbo would in this instance trust his judgement. He must be crazy to do so. 

“I have given up trying to teach him manners.” Balin said. “Which brings us back to our task at hand. Not that your manners are not up to par.” He said quickly, when Bilbo raised his eyebrows. “You just need to learn a few more things about dwarfish etiquette.”

When Balin busied himself with the pile of books, Fili mouthed “I’m so sorry for you!” at Bilbo and then waved his goodbye. He stopped for a short, whispered conversation with Ori and then left the library as well.

Apart from a lengthy lunch break, which they spent in the great dining hall with Dori and Dwalin, Bilbo and Balin stayed in the library the whole day, pouring over books and scrolls till Bilbo’s eyes itched with tiredness and his mind with irritation. His farewell to Balin was a bit shorter than usual and Balin as well seemed to be glad to be rid of Bilbo for the rest of the day. “What’s on my schedule tomorrow?” Bilbo asked, before they separated. 

“Clothes fitting after breakfast, Oin will pick you up for a short visit to the infirmary after that, break for lunch and then Khuzdul lessons in the afternoon.” Balin recited, without even having to check his notes. 

“Thanks, Balin. Have a good evening.” The hobbit said and then quickly walked away, in case Balin remembered something else Bilbo could do the next day.  
It was already past five in the afternoon when Bilbo came to his quarters, but luckily enough Kili wasn’t the most punctual of persons and so Bilbo had enough time to just sit in front of the fire in his small living room for half an hour before he was disturbed again. Bounding into the room with his usual energy, Kili brought dinner carried by one of Bilbo’s appointed servants and a bundle of cloths with him. The dwarf carrying the tray with food quickly disappeared after setting his load on the table, leaving Bilbo and Kili alone to eat. 

“I thought you said you’d be here by 5 pm and that we’d then go and make cookies.” Bilbo said, when they settled down for dinner and watched Kili tearing bread apart to dip it in his stew. “Yeah, preparation took longer than I thought.” the dwarf answered with his mouth full. “And then I thought, we’d better not try and sneak into the kitchen during dinner time. Better go, when they are cleaning up. The cooks will be gone and the cleaning staff is much nicer.”

The thick stew tasted lovely and Bilbo, who felt well disposed to the cooks on behalf of the good fare, started to feel guilty again. “Kili, is this really a good idea?”  
With a clatter, Kili let his spoon fall into his already empty bowl and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Of course it is. And you can’t bail now. I’ve prepared everything, made the dough yesterday, oh, and mum is actually going to come with us. She’s never made cookies before and wants to try it as well.” Obviously Kili expected praise for this, but Bilbo felt more like smacking him. “Your mother is going to join us?” He asked, not quite believing it. Kili nodded and then went to answer the door, since the dwarrowdam they’d been talking about had just knocked. 

If it hadn’t been for Dis, Bilbo would still have bowed out of the scheme when Kili unveiled the plan. The bundle he had brought contained a fake beard and a wig for Bilbo, along with a set of dwarfish clothes. Only because Dis pleaded with his did Bilbo put those on and then let them attach the beard and put on the wig. When Bilbo finally looked in the mirror, he did actually look like a dwarf. He refused to put on shoes though, but Kili reckoned that nobody was going to look at his feet.  
Together the three set off to the kitchen, where they were greeted by the dwarfes still working there, cleaning up after dinner and preparing things for the next day, but otherwise nobody paid them attention. Kili had arranged for an oven to be heated for them and had brought his cookie cutters. Dis looked at them with delight and let Bilbo and Kili explain how to knead and roll the dough and then use the cutters to cut it. Despite feeling a bit silly with his beard and long trousers, Bilbo was starting to get into the thing and actually enjoyed himself. Kili had prepared a huge mound of dough from the book of recipes Bilbo had given him and together the three worked away for over an hour, till all of it had been cut up and baked. The first batch had cooled down enough to be edible by then and after cleaning up the table and tools they had used, Bilbo, Kili and Dis invited the remaining kitchen staff to sample a few. 

As they sat around a small table, sharing a tray of cookies and drinking tea, Bilbo felt for the first time, that maybe he would manage to see Erebor as his home one day. When he said goodbye to Kili and Dis at his door, each of them carrying a large tin of cookies, Bilbo was actually starting to look forward to Solstice again. If only he could see Thorin more often. He’d definitely keep the beard and show it to Thorin as a surprise some time.

***

His good mood carried Bilbo all through the next morning and he even hummed the tune of one of his favourite Solstice songs while standing still for Tunin the tailor. And then not only Oin, but Bofur as well came to pick him up for lunch, which pleased Bilbo immensely. He hadn’t seen much of Bofur, sometimes he came visiting with Fili, but otherwise their schedules just didn’t seem to match. It occurred to Bilbo, that while Oin was his usual loud and slightly caustic self, that Bofur seemed rather quiet. To see what was behind that, Bilbo invited Bofur to have lunch with him and the dwarf accepted the invitation friendly enough. 

“So, how have you been doing lately?” Bilbo asked him, as they left the infirmary behind and walked through the halls of Erebor. 

“Oh, well enough. The shop is going well. Bifur is making a roaring trade actually.” Together with his cousin, Bofur had opened up a small shop that sold all kinds of things made from wood. They made spoons, combs, bowls and hair beads, but what people really came for were the beautiful toys that Bifur created. As it seemed he could not make them fast enough. Despite their success and their share of the treasure, Bofur still wore simple clothes and the same old hat he had worn when Bilbo first met him. The only concession to his status as lord and Fili’s partner was the ring Bofur wore. The sigil had been designed by Thorin to complement Fili’s and Bofur had worn it proudly ever since he had been presented with it. 

“I’m happy to hear that you’re doing well. I’ve meant to visit your shop, but I haven’t been my own master ever since I came here.” Bilbo sighed. 

They chatted about this and that while they ate and then Bofur walked Bilbo back to his quarters. He hadn’t come closer to unearthing why Bofur seemed so subdued, only gathered more confirmation that something had to be wrong. “Come and have a quick cuppa with me.” Bilbo pleaded and held his door open. Bofur, who had walked slowly as if to drag their walk out as much as possible, looked quite pleased at the invitation. 

When they sat down with a cup of tea and a small plate of Bilbo’s precious cookies, the hobbit decided that his cautious approach wasn’t leading him anywhere and that he had to ask Bofur directly what was wrong. They were good friends after all. 

“Bofur, please don’t take this the wrong way, but you seem to be, well, a bit subdued. Is anything the matter?” he asked gently. Bofur stilled with his cup halfway to his mouth, then carefully lifted it the rest of the way to take a sip, avoiding Bilbo’s eyes. Bilbo waited for the dwarf to swallow and put the cup back down. When Bofur finally looked at him, he was smiling, albeit wanly. 

“It’s nothing, really.” Bofur said.

“Oh, come on Bofur. You can tell me. Is this about the seating at the wedding? I…well I think that might be my fault. I complained to Balin and Thorin put his foot down and Balin ended up having to juggle all the places around again and…” Bilbo started to explain but Bofur held up his hand to stall him. 

“Bilbo! It’s got nothing to do with the seating at the wedding! It’s…” Bofur broke off, a strange expression on his face. Bilbo looked at him expectantly. The dwarf swallowed drily, then he lifted his hands to his hat, took it off and scratched his head. 

“Bofur, you can talk to me. I won’t tell anybody, if you don’t want me to.” Bilbo coaxed gently. 

Bofur turned his hat in his hands and sucked on his upper lip. “Bilbo…Oh well. Alright. I’ll tell you. But you have to promise not to talk to somebody else. It’s just so stupid. But…urm. It’s…it’s about Fili and me. We… I …Oh I really don’t know how to say this without sounding like a complete fool. He’s been …working a lot lately. We didn’t have much time for each other during the last months. When we see each other he’s …distracted sometimes. Not that he isn’t caring and sweet, because he is, he is all that is good and sweet and I get that he has a lot on his mind. It’s not only the library and all, it’s Erebor stuff and the wedding so he’s got a lot on his plate. But, I don’t know. Sometimes he seems so distant. And he …” Bofur had talked faster and faster and now broke off again. He fidgeted with the hat in his hands, scrunching the flaps in his hands and flattening them again. “I think he might …there might be somebody else.”

Bilbo stared at Bofur. The dwarf was visibly upset and unhappy. If he hadn’t been, Bilbo would have laughed, so ridiculous did he find the notion that Fili might entertain feelings for anyone but Bofur. Bilbo had been present for the first two weeks of their courtship, for it had started in his own home, and he had never seen a couple more in love than the two dwarves. And afterwards they had exchanged letters on an almost weekly basis and then he had come to Erebor and seen how devoted Fili and Bofur still were to each other. The way Fili always looked at Bofur still made Bilbo smile, because it reminded him of his own dwarf. 

While Bilbo could understand that Bofur was unhappy because Fili didn’t have much time for him, if anyone could understand this then it was Bilbo, he doubted that it was because Fili had his eyes on another dwarf. And Bilbo told Bofur so. But Bofur didn’t look convinced. 

“Bilbo, I know Fili is a wonderful dwarf and I don’t think that he has been unfaithful to me. But… Oh, I just know that there is somebody else. Somebody who is much more fitting than a simple miner. And sooner or later Fili will do the honourable thing and end it with me. He’s just waiting for the right moment to do it. Probably after the wedding.” Bofur sagged in his seat and even his moustache seemed to sag down sadly. 

Maybe Bilbo had to go about this logically. “Bofur, I think this is silly. Fili is devoted to you! He’s been very upset about the seating arrangement on the wedding. Do you think he would care, if he was already thinking about leaving you for somebody else?”

The dwarf shook his head sadly. “Oh I know that he still cares about me. And he is very keen on tradition and everything that is fitting. Since he is still officially courting me, of course he would say something about the seating being changed.”

“Bofur! You can’t be serious!” Bilbo said, who was starting to get upset for Fili’s sake. 

“I know that it sounds crazy. But I think…I think I know who that dwarf is…” Bofur’s voice trailed away while Bilbo’s mouth fell open in surprise. 

“No! Bofur, that is… that…Who do you have in mind?” he asked, not being able to suppress his curiosity, even though he doubted there was anybody. 

“Ori.” Bofur said miserably. 

Now Bilbo was lost for words for a few moments and he just stared dumbly at Bofur. When he finally managed to say something it came out rather incredulous. “Ori! You can’t …No. Ori. Why do you think that? For Aule’s sake!”

“Ori is a very nice and clever young dwarf. He’s not from nobility, but at least he knows everything there is to know about etiquette and how to behave and everything. And I know that Fili likes him. He’s been talking a lot about Ori lately.” The dwarf was talking to his hands now, still clenching and unclenching on the flaps of his hat. 

Bilbo leaned forward now and took one of Bofur’s hands. “Bofur, this is crazy. Fili has been working a lot with Ori lately, of course he talks about him. And they are friends. But Bofur, Fili really loves you, I’m certain of that. Maybe…maybe you should talk with him. Tell him that you miss him. I don’t know if he can do much about that at the moment, but I think he would want to know that you are unhappy.”

Bilbo felt his own heart clench in pity as he looked at the unhappy dwarf in front of him. He himself was very unhappy, that he couldn’t spend more time with Thorin. But he had never doubted Thorin’s feelings. The dwarf was still as devoted to Bilbo, as he had been before. And Bilbo was certain, that Fili’s feelings for Bofur were unchanged as well. He had no idea however, how he could persuade Bofur of that. The dwarf sighed. 

“That’s nice of you to say, Bilbo. You’ve always been a good friend to me. But…you haven’t heard Fili talk about Ori. His eyes are shining and … It’s like the way he used to look at me.” There were tears shining in his eyes now and he sniffed miserably. 

Bilbo shook his head. “No, Bofur. You have it completely wrong, I’m certain of that. Do you…I could talk with Fili for you, if you want.” He offered, but Bofur shook his head. “That is very kind of you, but I’d rather you wouldn’t. I don’t want to hasten things. I …I know that it is selfish, but I want to wait till it is inevitable. I love him so much! I want to hang on to this till he decides he wants to end it.”

The look of sorrow on Bofur’s face really cut deep and Bilbo felt helpless. Obviously he couldn’t offer any consolation at the moment. And if Bofur didn’t want him to talk with Fili, than he wouldn’t. But Bilbo could still have an eye on Ori and Fili and than he could tell Bofur with even more certainty, that Fili did not have feelings for Ori, despite the respect that a hard and clever worker naturally demanded. 

“Alright, I won’t mention it to him. But please Bofur, you should consider talking with him. I’m sure he would be able to reassure you. And you know that you can always talk to me, if you feel you need it.” Bilbo poured fresh tea and changed the subject. He told Bofur about his little adventure with Kili and Dis and actually managed to make Bofur chuckle at the image of Bilbo with a long wig and beard. When the dwarf finally left, he was at least looking slightly more cheerful than he had all day. 

Bilbo stared into the fire for a long while after Bofur had left and then finally went to bed with a heavy heart. It was still more than three weeks till Solstice, he still had to endure wedding preparations and now he also had to watch Fili and Ori, to reassure Bofur that there was nothing to fear on that front. How he wished he could snuggle up to Thorin now and burrow his face in his long hair.

***

Another day of trying to learn his wedding vows by heart and having to sit through another sculpturing session left Bilbo with a headache, that even a good night’s sleep didn’t chase away. Bilbo was grumpy. He couldn’t recite more than the first paragraph of his vows without making a mistake and his new mission of watching Ori and Fili had not gotten off to a good start. He hadn’t even seen Fili since his talk with Bofur and on top of that he hadn’t seen Thorin since then. Not that he was starting to doubt Thorin’s affections just because Bofur seemed unhappy. But somehow Bofur’s sadness had affected him more than he had at first realised. He practically ached to see Thorin, but according to his schedule, he would next see him in three days. Thorin usually managed to sneak away sometimes and often came to visit Bilbo outside of their officially scheduled meetings but Bilbo couldn’t count on that. To cheer himself up a bit, he rooted through his things for his solstice decorations and hung a few up in his apartment. Without fir branches it didn’t quite give the room the right cheer however and after looking around for a few minutes, he took them all down again. He was just putting the last star back into it’s box, when there was a heavy knock on the door and without waiting for an answer, Thorin bounded into the room. He was wrapped in furs, his face was red from cold and he was smiling broadly. “Bilbo! Come on, get dressed as warm as possible quickly and then come with me. I have a surprise for you!” he said as he rushed over to Bilbo. 

“Thorin! What…I didn’t think I’d be seeing you today. What…” Bilbo looked at the dwarf in astonishment. Thorin leaned down for a quick kiss, shutting Bilbo up effectively and then turned him by the shoulders and pushed him to his bedroom. “No time for long talks. I’ve just escaped Balin and he might suspect I came here. Come on, Bilbo, get a move on!”

Faced with Thorin’s enthusiasm, Bilbo had no defences and without arguing got dressed quickly in a few layers of furs, wound a scarf round his neck and grabbed his warmest hat and gloves before rushing out to met Thorin in his living room again. The dwarf was practically quivering with impatience and as soon as Bilbo emerged from the bedroom, Thorin grabbed his hand and pulled him along after him. 

Bilbo had by now gotten used to the many passages of Erebor and the way they all seemed to look alike. During the first month or so he had usually been getting around with a guide by his side, but by now he had learned to read the secret mine signs that where hidden everywhere and told the knowledgeable wanderer exactly where he was. He still got lost sometimes but at least he had always managed to find his way again after a bit of searching. Now however Thorin was pulling Bilbo along at such a fast pace, that Bilbo had no opportunity to check for the mine signs and was therefore soon pretty much without any idea where they were.  
“Thorin!” he said somewhat breathlessly. “Slow down a bit, please!” 

Thorin slowed down immediately, but didn’t let go of Bilbo’s hand he had been clutching tightly in his own. “Sorry, I just wanted to make sure we aren’t followed.” He said, looking back over his shoulder for anybody tailing them, but the narrow corridor behind them was deserted. 

“Yes, I assumed as much. Just why are we running like this? And where? Please don’t tell me we are eloping. After all that I’ve gone through for this wedding, I think I would actually be disappointed, if we missed it.” Bilbo told the dwarf and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. It wasn’t particularly cold in the mountain and running around in his furs had heated him up quite a bit. Thorin looked as fresh as a daisy, a comparison that amused Bilbo. 

The dwarf gave a laugh at Bilbo’s question. “No, sadly we are not eloping. I think if we tried that, Balin would hunt us down and drag us back. And then kill me. Well, maybe not kill me, but he would probably shackle me to the throne. And throw away the key.”

This description made Bilbo chuckle. Balin would go ballistic if the two of them would actually disappear. It was a nice idea though, get away from all the stress. He still didn’t know, where they were going. “So, tell me where we are going then?” Actually he didn’t really care. He was happy enough to tag along after Thorin, holding his hand and sharing a laugh. It had been a while since they had been really alone together and this alone was an unadulterated joy. 

Thorin turned his head to smile at him. “A tiny bit more patience, my burglar. I have a surprise for you.” And so Bilbo ceased to ask and just let Thorin lead him on through the tunnels. It actually didn’t take much longer for them to reach the stables, an area in the mountain that Bilbo rarely visited. “Thorin, the stables? Are we really not eloping?” he asked, laughter tinting his voice. 

As they stepped through the doors, Thorin grinned at Bilbo. “No, really not eloping. Not really eloping. Just…getting away for a couple of hours.”

The stables were rather large and dark and full of the warm and strangely sweet smell of hay and horses. It wasn’t in fact a smell that you could call nice, but Bilbo still kind of liked it. When a large form stepped out from the shadows, Bilbo gasped in surprise and grabbed Thorin’s hand a bit tighter, stepping slightly in front of him in case it was an attacker out to assassinate the king. Thorin’s other hand grabbed Bilbo’s shoulder soothingly however and then the large form spoke and Bilbo realised it was Dwalin. 

“Thorin, Bilbo.” The large dwarf greeted them and Bilbo relaxed. 

“Dwalin.” Thorin and Bilbo answered in unison. Then Thorin went on alone. “Everything is ready?”

“Everything as you asked.” Dwalin said curtly. Bilbo saw a flash of teeth in the darkness that indicated a smile and then Dwalin led them to two large goats tethered to a sleigh that was piled his with blankets and furs. Bilbo threw the two dwarves a look. “And we are really not eloping?”

Dwalin started to laugh. “I wish for both of you that you could, but I think my brother would be very displeased. So please don’t. I would have to face the brunt of it, seeing as I let you go like this.” The dwarf gave Thorin a clap on the shoulder and then simply left them. 

Thorin held out his hand to Bilbo. “Let me help you get in then.” The hobbit eyed the sleigh and Thorin dubiously for a moment, but then gave Thorin his hand and let him help into the driving seat of the sleigh. Thorin climbed on after him and then arranged the blankets and furs around them. Then he grabbed the reign and, with a click of his tongue, spurred the goats on. 

As they slid out of the tunnel into the bright winter sunlight, Thorin turned to Bilbo. “We, my burglar, are going on a sleigh ride through the snow. Just you and me and nobody is going to annoy us this afternoon.” 

Thorin had chosen the perfect afternoon for their little excursion. It had snowed the day before, but now the sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly, making the snow glitter in the light. A long, gentle slope lead down the side of the mountain and to the newly planted forest. The trees were still young, but already quite tall and Bilbo had a notion that somehow the elves must have something to do with their fast growth. Or maybe Gandalf. At any rate, the trees were much taller than they could have grown in the six years since Smaug had been defeated. Not that Bilbo would have minded. He remembered how miserable the area around the mountain had looked and the trees made a remarkable difference. 

“Thorin, this is wonderful!” Bilbo exclaimed, his breath coming in white puffs in the cold air. He hadn’t been outside for at least 10 days and while the air in the mountain was filtered through a very clever system of air shafts, it still felt different to be out in the open and breathe fresh air while you could actually see the sky.  
Thorin chuckled happily. “I knew you would like this.” he said. “Sometimes I think you hobbits are like flowers, the way you perk up when you are in the sunlight.” The smile he threw Bilbo was endearing and Bilbo just had to grab Thorin’s arm and hoist himself up to give him a peck on the cheek. “Just don’t try and water me.” he said when he plumped down in his seat again. “I don’t particularly like to have wet feet.” Bilbo wriggled his toes, which under the mounds of blankets were quite warm and dry. Moving his feet, he noticed there was something stashed in the space between Thorin’s and his own feet. He nudged against it and realised it was a basket of some sort. 

“Thorin, did you actually pack a picnic?” Bilbo asked in delight and again Thorin laughed, looking and sounding very happy. “Indeed. I wouldn’t dare whisking you away for a few hours without packing something nice to eat. Actually, I got some of those lovely cookies from Dis.” He gave Bilbo a pointed look and the hobbit smiled up at him apologetically. 

“Oh. So you’ve heard about that, haven’t you?” he asked, expecting to be scolded.

Thorin did suddenly look serious. “Yes I did. And I’m rather wounded you didn’t tell me about it.” When Bilbo was about to apologise profusely he went on much lighter however. “You know how much I enjoyed making cookies. Next time you do it, please let me come, too.” 

Bilbo gave him an astounded look, saw that the dwarf’s lips were twitching and then giggled himself. Sometimes he forgot that despite his important position and the grave demeanour that it sometimes required, Thorin did have a much lighter and playful side to himself and that he did enjoy harmless adventures like the one Bilbo had had in the kitchen. “Maybe you could do something about that decree, forbidding consorts to enter the kitchen. Then we wouldn’t even have to bother with sneaking in.” he said playfully and Thorin breathed out with a soft sigh. “I promise that I will look into that.”

Hearing the weariness in Thorin’s voice, Bilbo touched his arm softly. “Thorin, I was joking. You don’t have to go about changing decrees for me. I know that it is a ridiculously complicated procedure.”

Thorin smiled at Bilbo. “I however wasn’t joking. I will try everything to make Erebor a place where you really feel at home.” They smiled at each other and then Thorin clicked his tongue again, spurring the goats on, so that they dashed through the glittering white landscape in a spray of sparkling snow. 

The two hours that they spend outside were the best that Bilbo had had in the last few months. Thorin drove them to the edge of the new forest spreading out at the foot of the mountain and there they got out of the sleigh to walk a little bit among the young tress. When Bilbo spotted a cluster of fir trees, he stopped in his tracks and looked at it with a bit of longing. Now there were the fir braches that he would have needed to decorate his room. But the forest had only started to grow back and he didn’t want to start cutting off branches from the young trees, in case it weakened them and all the effort of planting the trees would have been in vain.

After their little walk they sat in the sleigh, wrapped up in the blankets against the bitter cold again and shared the picnic Thorin had packed. There was mulled wine in a flask and they warmed their hands on the cup before the hot wine warmed their bellies. The cookies tasted even better now that Bilbo had worked up a bit of an appetite through moving in the cold. And then there were small sesame honey cakes and another flask with hot tea and they shared everything between them rather cheerfully, handing the cup back and forth and feeding each other cookies and small bites of the cakes. They also shared a few kisses and Bilbo was sure if it hadn’t been so cold then the kisses would have led to more. As it was, neither of them was desperate enough to risk freezing off delicate body parts and so, when Bilbo’s hands were getting numb with cold, despite his thick gloves, they fed the last of the cakes to the goats and then turned round to go back up the slope.

Even with the blankets gathered around them, Bilbo was shivering with cold as the sun was starting to set, the snow turning pink, reflecting the light of the red orb hanging low in the sky. “Come on Bilbo, slide over here. I don’t want you to catch a cold.” Thorin ordered and Bilbo didn’t need to be told twice. He snuggled up next to Thorin as closely as he could get and then put his gloved hands into Thorin’s pocket for good measure. Like this he felt much warmer and even though Thorin couldn’t put his arm around Bilbo because he needed both hands to steer the sled up the curving slope, this was almost as good as a being hugged by the dwarf.  
When they arrived at the stables again, Balin was waiting for them there. He stood next to Dwalin, who looked uncomfortable, and was tapping his foot when Thorin and Bilbo got out of their sled. “Good afternoon, Balin.” Thorin said breezily, and then helped Dwalin un-tether the goats. Bilbo stood by, trying to avoid Balin’s accusing gaze. 

“Your majesty. Bilbo.” The white haired dwarf said and the cold disapproval in his voice stung almost as bad as the cold. “I’ve been looking for you for a while. And then Dwalin tells me, that you rode out. Alone. Without guards.”

Thorin handed the goats over to Dwalin, who busied himself with leading the animals to their pens and proceeded to brush the snow off their long hair. “I assumed, since I am king under the mountain, I didn’t need to ask permission to go on a little inspection, when my schedule conveniently allowed it. Since Bilbo also had no pressing matters to attend to, I invited him to come along. Hobbits are remarkable with plants, you know and I wanted him to have a look at the forest for a while now.” He told Balin, as he collected the basket from the sled. With a wave to Dwalin, Thorin turned to leave, grabbing Bilbo’s hand as he walked past and pulled the hobbit along. Balin followed in their wake, complaining about them walking off all the way back to Bilbo’s quarters, but Thorin completely ignored him. Despite being angry at them for sneaking away, Balin allowed them a modicum of privacy to say and kiss their goodbyes at the door. 

Bilbo, who felt the warmth finally returning to his fingers and the tip of his nose, smiled at Thorin standing before him. The dwarf’s cheeks and nose were as red as Bilbo was sure his own were, but like himself he was smiling broadly, looking quite happy. “Thank you very much for the wonderful afternoon, my love.” Bilbo said and rose on his toes to kiss Thorin. 

“Thank you for coming along and making it wonderful.” Thorin answered and kissed Bilbo back. “Now inside with you and quickly put your feet in a bowl of warm water. I don’t want to be the reason for you catching a cold.”

Smiling at his concern, Bilbo did as he was told. As he sat in his chair in front of the fire, a mug of tea in his hands and his feet in hot water, he thought again that he couldn’t wait till Solstice was over and he wouldn’t have to say goodbye to Thorin at his door anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you start worrying, I'm planing to make everybody happy at the end of this. But a bit of angst always adds a bit of flavour, don't you think. ;)


	3. Can't wait till Solstice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bilbo still struggles with his vows, Ori is there to help and Kili definitely is up to something. Not much Solstice spirit going on, or is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sooooo sorry I didn't manage the update yesterday. I had a crazy week with a few sleepless nights due to having to make a very important decision and then there was Bofa and I was too depressed to write. I'm not going to do spoilers here, but there were a few things in that movie that made me rather angry with PJ. 
> 
> But I crammed in a few hours writing yesterday (or better tonight *yawn!*) and finished this chapter. The end is totally rushed, I wanted it to be a bit more romantic, but I almost fell asleep over my keyboard and decided, it had to be enough this way. I hope it's not disappointing. 
> 
> Rating went up due to mentioning of rampant body parts. It's very tame, but I thought better be safe. :)

With not even two whole weeks left till Solstice, Bilbo was actually starting to get nervous. So far he had only been annoyed about the preparations, but now things really kicked into gear and Bilbo couldn’t help but start to worry. He still had problems with his vows. The first and the last part he could recite perfectly, but there was a tricky part in the middle that he couldn’t for the life of him get right and he only whished that he could instead tell Thorin that he loved him and would do everything in his power to be a good husband and consort and just leave it at that.

The wedding outfits were still not ready. At least Bilbo didn’t have to suffer through daily fittings, but Tunin send daily reports of the progress through Balin, which meant that Bilbo was up to date with just how much there was still missing to completion. Tunin had even predicted darkly that the final fittings would probably have to take place on the morning of the wedding. 

And to top it all, Bilbo had a few official appointments scheduled during the next weeks which were promising to be rather exhausting. There was an official envoy coming from Dale, another one from Lake Town, and then the first guest were already starting to arrive, all of them eager to meet Bilbo before the wedding. Since he knew most of them already, he had met Dain and didn’t like him, while he was fascinated by the elf Thranduil and his son Legolas, Bilbo didn’t really understand the necessity for this and wasn’t looking forward to having his already short time shortened further. 

Bilbo felt that all these meetings, however well meant at least some of them were, were actually a right old waste of his already rather scarce time. What was even worse was that as the future consort, he had to put up a brave front and pretend he wasn’t annoyed by that. At least in front of the guests he was going to have to look like nothing was more pleasant and important than spending time with them. Which was certainly not how Bilbo felt. 

Privately he had taken to wearing a frown and grumbling under his breath. Kili, who had of course noticed this, had commented with a laugh that Bilbo was apparently taking marriage real serious, because unlike other husbands, who waited a few years to start resembling their spouses, he was already starting to look like Thorin. The hobbit had not been amused.

He was very worried about his vows, much more than anything else. He had to get them right, he just had to. Since Balin had a lot of things on his plate as well, Bilbo had pondered who he could ask to help him when the king’s advisor had to deal with other things. Dis and Kili would probably have been keen to help, but neither of them was really at home with the dry, legal language of the vows and Bilbo didn’t only want to say the words, he wanted to understand in detail what he was saying. Balin had of course given him a translation, but Bilbo found it somewhat lacking and wanted to discuss it further. The only person that Bilbo knew who could understand the vows properly and would probably be willing to help was Ori. 

Not wanting to waste more time, Bilbo went to ask Ori immediately and was gratified to find him not only willing to help but actually very excited about the prospect of working with Bilbo. This also gave Bilbo an opportunity to watch Ori for any sign of deeper interest in Fili and vice versa. He still doubted anything was going on, but he had promised himself to help Bofur and this was the only thing he could think of doing, without downright asking Fili if there was any basis for Bofur’s misgivings. 

Since Ori had told Bilbo to come to the library whenever he had time, Bilbo used a free afternoon two days after his sleigh ride with Thorin to take up his scrolls with the vow in Khuzdul, in phonetic transcription and the translation Balin had given him and made his way to the library. Ori greeted him with a smile and together they settled down at a table that the dwarf had apparently already prepared, because there were several dictionaries and reference books lying on a neat pile on the polished wood. 

“Alright, before we start, what exactly is your problem with the vows?” Ori asked and Bilbo launched into an explanation of how he couldn’t remember the middle part of his vows. Ori asked for the scroll to read the words over, his head bobbing as he read and then he smiled at Bilbo. “Yes, I can understand that this is hard to put to memory. Well, let me think…” Putting a finger to his lip, Ori stared off into the distance. Bilbo just sat silent by his side, waiting for him to finish thinking. He let his gaze wander and then gave a start when Kili sauntered into his field of vision. The dwarf gave a little start in turn when he saw Bilbo, but then came over to their table, a broad smile on his face. 

“Hello Bilbo. Ori.” Kili said in what could only with some generosity be called a whisper. The hobbit returned the greeting, while Ori nodded at Kili mutely. “What brings you here, Kili?” Bilbo asked. He liked the young dwarf, but at the moment he was anxious to get on with his work and Ori, who had looked so eager, was already shrinking into himself at the sight of the lively young prince. 

“Urm, I wanted to ask you if you were up for another little hairy adventure.” Kili said and then winked roguishly at Bilbo. Not one for subtlety, Bilbo thought. Somehow he was a bit like Thorin in that respect, even if the results of this shared character trait were completely different. It was only good that Balin wasn’t here, he would have been suspicious immediately. Ori on the other hand tried to look like he wasn’t listening to the conversation, paging through one of the reference books. “No, I don’t think so.” Bilbo answered, shaking his head. He had been very restrained with his share of the cookies and had still at least a third of them left. And while the excursion to the library had been great fun in a way, Bilbo didn’t want to risk doing it again, not when Thorin had actually started to look into changing the decree that forbade consorts to enter the kitchen. If Bilbo was found in the kitchen now, he feared he would complicate things for his fiancé. 

“Shame. I’ll go with mum then. She is begging me to share my recipe with her, but I’m not giving it to her. I’m in charge of the cookie dough.” Kili said offhandedly and then leaned a hip against the table, obviously planning to stay a while longer and have a bit of a chat. “So, what are you two busy bees doing in the library? And where is Balin? Isn’t he usually glued to your side?” 

Bilbo knew he wouldn’t get rid of Kili unless he indulged him a bit, so he didn’t even try to send him away immediately. “Ori is helping me with my vows. I still have problems remembering parts of them.”

Kili’s eyes moved from Bilbo to Ori and his smile brightened a few degrees. “And who better to help than Ori! Our own little scholar.” The tone was teasing and Bilbo noticed that Ori seemed to shrink a few inches, his head ducking down between his shoulders and his cheeks starting to go red. “I’m sure Ori will find a way for you to remember your vows.” Kili went on, sounding absolutely sure about it. “Balin might have a smart head on his shoulders, but Ori, well he is creative.” Ori peeked up under his fringe, a small smile on his lips at the praise and Kili grinned down at him broadly, flashing his white teeth.

“So I’d better leave you two academics. Cookie dough to make and then I’m sparring with Dwalin. Wanna come, Ori? Exchange the quill for a sword for a bit?” the teasing tone was back in Kili’s voice and Ori shrank down again. “No thanks.” He muttered. “I’d rather not.”   
“Suit yourself.” Kili said with a shrug and pushed himself away from the desk, making the stack of book wobble dangerously. “See you lads around then. And don’t spend the whole day over those books of yours. Some of these days your brains are going to be so big, you won’t understand anybody else anymore because we’re all so stupid in comparison.” With that Kili walked away, waving back at them jauntily at the door and then disappearing from sight. 

Bilbo turned to look at Ori to make a joke and saw, that the young librarian still was looking uncomfortable, his ears and cheeks tinted red. Choosing a soft tone, Bilbo said “Don’t mind him Ori. He doesn’t mean it in a bad way.”

Ori made a strange face and then smiled at Bilbo. “Oh, it’s alright. I’m used to him teasing me. I don’t really mind.” He did look like he did mind however and Bilbo was going to point that out when Ori went on “I just wish I could hold up against him sometimes. I’m more than just brains. Dwalin did give me some sword lessons and I’m quite good he says. But I always lose my nerve before telling Kili off. He’s a prince, after all. ” For a split second Bilbo thought that Ori looked wistful, but when he looked closer, there was only Ori’s shy smile left and a hint of red on his cheeks. And then they immersed themselves into the complicated words of his vows again, and Bilbo didn’t have time to think about Ori and Kili till he was walking back to his own rooms. 

But then he did think about them, because somehow Ori’s behaviour had struck Bilbo as odd. Ori had always been shy around Kili, that much Bilbo had noticed earlier. But he had put it down to Ori simply being in awe of Kili’s exuberant nature and, being so much calmer himself, just feeling uncomfortable around the lively prince. But today he had sounded like he wanted to impress Kili himself but didn’t dare and like the definitely good natured teasing actually hurt him out a bit. Nobody but Kili had such a rather startling effect on Ori nowadays.   
And if Bilbo thought about it, Kili had been behaving strangely as well. More than once had he strolled into the library during the last weeks and he had always looked kind of shifty when he had seen Bilbo and even though he had said he’d been looking for him today and at other times as well, he had sounded a bit insincere every time. Bilbo tried to remember what Kili had actually said to Ori and he thought that while he had sounded teasing, most of it could also be taken as praise and admiration. Kili also seemed to be quite touchy feely with Ori, at least when he had the chance and while he was very affectionate in general, Kili didn’t go around pinning people to his side all the time. He’d also been rather slyly boasting about his cookies earlier and then he had invited Ori to sparring today, something which he’d never done with Bilbo. Maybe that as well could be seen as a way to show off his strong points in front of Ori? 

Considering all this, Bilbo didn’t think it was entirely unlikely that Bofur had been right in that Ori had caught the eye of one prince, he’d just been wrong about which one. This was something Bilbo had to look into and it raised his spirits, which needed raising after the little learning session with Ori. With Ori’s much more thorough translation and explanations, Bilbo now understood the contents of the vows much better and was glad about it, because they meant more to him that way. On the other hand they hadn’t found a way yet to make them more memorable. He still stuttered to a halt halfway through and couldn’t go on. It was frustrating. Bilbo pottered around his room for a while, looking through another of his boxes that had just been delivered, there was a knock and Fili was announced. 

Unlike his younger brother, Fili never just barged in on Bilbo. Instead he always sent one of his retainers ahead to let Bilbo know that the prince wanted to call on him and ask, if it was convenient. Privately Bilbo thought that this much courtesy was a bit extreme, considering that they were as good as family already, but Fili seemed to take the court etiquette quite seriously and so the hobbit always played along. It was kind of nice, actually, to be warned of guests, because it gave Bilbo time to prepare a few refreshments and a little snack, something that was very important for a hobbit. 

When Fili knocked ten minutes later, Bilbo had arranged a tray with tea things and a plate with cookies next to the good chairs by the fire. There was always a samovar with hot water in Bilbo’s quarters, so making fresh tea was never a problem. Fili greeted Bilbo with a polite bow and the formal greeting reserved for the betrothed of his uncle and Bilbo answered with the correct response. Then Fili moved forwards to greet Bilbo much more affectionately, by gently grasping his shoulders and touching his forehead to the hobbit’s. 

“Hello Bilbo, how are you today?” Fili asked politely but with a sweet smile, when they both stepped back. He was dressed immaculately in a pale blue tunic under a deep blue coat with heavily embroidered lapels, a studded belt around his middle held the precious knife that Thorin had given him the year before. It was the only weapon he was wearing openly, but Bilbo was sure that Fili had more knives and daggers hidden away on his person. He didn’t wear much jewellery, only the sigil ring on his left hand and Bilbo noticed with a smile that he was again wearing wooden beads in his beard and hair. 

“Oh you know how it is. Busy every day.” Bilbo said and led the way to the hearth. The prince followed him and sat down gracefully in the offered chair. Bilbo was happy to notice that Fili did relax his usually proper posture and slumped a bit when he was sitting. In public Fili always sat ramrod straight, unlike Kili, who could manage to get comfortable even on the stone seats in the throne room. To see Fili loosen up a bit was always a relief to Bilbo, who liked to make his guests as comfy as possible and who thought that Fili definitely needed to loosen up a bit. 

“And how are you, Fili?” Bilbo asked, as he handed the dwarf a cup of tea, along with a few cookies on the saucer. 

“Busy as well.” Fili said, accepting the cup with a grateful nod. When he noticed the cookies his face lit up. “Oh, are those solstice cookies? I really liked those. We did have a very lovely Solstice with you last year.” He took one bite and smiled, sinking deeper in the chair with a contend sigh. “Mmmmh, they taste heavenly! Where did you get those?” Clear blue eyes, not unlike Thorin’s in their intensity, looked at Bilbo over the rim of the cup and the hobbit blushed. 

“Well, to be honest, I allowed Kili to draw me in one of his schemes. We went to the kitchen one evening and made them ourselves.” Bilbo admitted and waited for Fili to criticise him. The dwarf however laughed and took another bite of his cookie. “That sounds like Kili. How did you get around that silly decree about consorts not being allowed in the kitchen?”

Bilbo reddened a bit more. “Urm, we… that is to say I urm… I went in disguise actually.”

Fili raised his eyebrows and sat up a bit. “Disguise? How?”

Looking at his own cup, Bilbo averted his eyes. “I was disguised as a dwarf. Complete with long hair and beard.” he admitted. Fili made a snort and Bilbo looked up to see him throw back his head and then start laughing for real. Pretending to be untouched by this bout of merriness, Bilbo sipped his tea and waited for Fili to calm down again. When the dwarf was wiping the eye without the patch with one sleeve, Bilbo put his cup down delicately and offered Fili a few more cookies from the plate with a straight face. Suppressing a snigger, Fili reached forward to take a few and then leaned back, grinning at Bilbo. 

“I would love to have seen that.” Fili said, fighting to make a straight face again, but failing. Bilbo didn’t really take offence at Fili’s amusement but happily watched him tucking into the cookies with relish. 

“I did keep the beard and the wig.” he said nonchalantly. “Maybe I’ll put them on sometime. For the wedding perhaps. Do you think Balin would approve?”

Chortling around a mouthful of cookie, Fili had to put down his cup to avoid spilling tea all over himself because he was shaking with suppressed laughter. When he managed to swallow, he coughed a few times and then held a hand to his heart. “I would love to see Balin’s face if you turned up for the ceremony in a wig and fake beard. I think he would just start to cry.” Fili sniggered a bit more and then wiped his eye again. “Bless me Bilbo, I haven’t laughed this much for a while.” He said with a sigh and sniffed. 

Bilbo smiled at him. “Well, I’m glad to be of service.” 

Still grinning, Fili looked around the room. When his eyes settled on Bilbo again he was looking a bit more serious. “And I’m honestly glad you do a bit to get into a Solstice mood. But I see you haven’t decorated your rooms. I thought you had received the box with your decorations. I made sure they were sent to you straight away, when it turned up in the library.”

Bilbo sighed. After his abandoned attempt to decorate his rooms, he hadn’t taken out the box with the ornaments again. Partly because he hadn’t been in the mood and partly because he really didn’t have time to dedicate himself to the task of decking the apartment out in festive trimmings. “No, to be honest, I just couldn’t get in the mood. I don’t have firs and then I’m not here most of the time, it just didn’t seem worth it.”

Creasing his forehead, Fili leaned forward to look at Bilbo more closely. “That doesn’t sound like you, Bilbo. I got the impression that this was something you really loved to do and now it’s not worth doing it? Are you sure you are alright? Do you have too much on your plate at the moment? Is there anything I can help you with?” The worried look on Fili’s face made Bilbo smile with gratefulness. While everybody around him always enquired after his wellbeing, nobody offered him help. They all seemed to assume, that he would get on alright by himself. Which was ok, because Bilbo could manage everything he had to do, but it was very nice to have somebody actually offering assistance. 

“That is very nice of you, but I don’t think there is anything you can do for me. And it’s not that you have a lot of free time yourself. I …” Bilbo hesitated for a moment. His talk with Bofur came to mind again and he wondered if he could talk about it, without breaking his promise not to mention anything to Fili. Well, he didn’t have to talk about Bofur’s suspicion concerning Ori. So he went on “I talked with Bofur the other day and he said you two haven’t seen much of each other lately. Is there perhaps anything I can do for you two?”

Fili sighed and sat back again. He suddenly looked almost as unhappy as Bofur had looked when Bilbo had talked with him and Bilbo thought it had probably been a mistake to broach the subject. “Did he complain?” Fili asked, his voice low and sad.

“No!” Bilbo exclaimed, desperate to keep the damage he had apparently done to a minimum. “He was sad about not seeing you, but he was most understanding. He knows you have a lot of work with the library and it’s not as if he wouldn’t be working much himself.”

Tiredly Fili reached up a hand and rubbed at the edge of the scar over his eye that was just visible next to the eye patch. “I feel so terrible about this. Every day I think, today I’ll be home early and spend some time with my beloved, show him how much he means to me. And then there are more meetings and a few more missives to read and I think, just this one and I go home and suddenly it’s three hours later and I’m still sitting in a council room. And then I get home and he’s either already sleeping or gone to his own rooms. Lately he’s usually gone. And I can’t blame him. I’m neglecting him in an unforgivable way. See these beads?” Fili held up one of his moustache braids to show Bilbo the wooden bead at the end of it. “He made them for me. Every month on our anniversary I get a new pair. And I want to make him something in return. But I usually end up buying him something, which is stupid, because he doesn’t need me to buy him things. I managed to write him something three month ago. Quite a silly love letter really. But he seemed to be happy about that. Anyways, I completely forgot about it last month. He didn’t say anything and he said he didn’t mind when I apologized later. But I just know that he is unhappy. He puts so much effort in our relationship and in showing me how much he loves me and I can’t even remember our anniversary or show up in time for dinner.” Fili sighed heavily. “He should just dump me. Bofur is such a wonderful dwarf, he deserves somebody who can appreciate him more. ” 

Bilbo, who had been chewing on his lip in worry, felt a tiny bit relieved. Not that he liked to hear that Fili as well was unhappy, but at least he had confirmed what Bilbo had suspected. Fili was not interested in any other dwarf. He just had a lot to do at the moment and felt guilty about not spending more time with Bofur. Now he only had to convince Bofur of this. And maybe help Fili find a few hours free time to spend with his beloved.

“Fili, I don’t think he would ever dump you. Not for something like a missed anniversary. He just wants to spend more time with you, that is all.” Bilbo told him.”I know that you are busy with the library, but couldn’t you distribute some of your duties? I know that Ori wouldn’t mind a bit more responsibility. He’s always eager to help.”

At the mention of Ori, Fili smiled a bit. “Funny that you should mention Ori. I’ve been hearing quite a lot about him lately.”

Confused, Bilbo let himself be sidetracked by that comment. “Have you? From who?”

Now Fili actually broke out in a grin. “From Kili. He’s been mentioning Ori quite a lot lately. I’m not entirely sure about it, but I do think that my brother has taken a bit of a shine to our kind librarian.” 

“Do you now?” Bilbo said, feeling smug that his own assumption had been just given more ground. “You know, I had the same thought. He kept coming round the library and always looked slightly caught when he saw me.” 

They grinned at each other for a moment, but then Bilbo remembered what their conversation had actually been about. “But returning to the matter at hand,” he said and Fili’s smile vanished. “Don’t you think that you could give Ori more to do? He’s not used to capacity in the new library and I am sure he would be happy to help. And he’s really good with legal matters. I’m sure he could fasten some decisions up. I’ve heard you are still debating about the best way to enter the old library. Maybe he could bring a new perspective and help overcome reservations. He can be quite persuasive when he wants to be.”  
Bilbo had chatted a bit with Ori before leaving the library and he had gotten the distinct impression that the young dwarf would have liked to have bit more responsibility than just invigilating the reading room and making sure books were returned in time. 

Fili sighed. “I’ve thought about that. But I wasn’t sure if Ori would like this kind of work. I know he’s really clever, much cleverer than anyone on my council as a matter of fact, but he doesn’t seem to be the type to stand up well in the kind of squabbling we get in our meetings. And knowing him he would agree to help me, even if he actually didn’t really want to. I don’t want him to be unhappy. I’m making enough people unhappy lately.”

Bilbo shock his head. “Stop that Fili. All Bofur needs from you is a bit more time and he’ll be happy as can be. And Ori can in fact deal with squabbling dwarves quite well. He’s Dori’s brother. I tell you, you should ask him. He’s grown up a lot, he’ll tell you honestly if he doesn’t want to do the job.”

Scrunching up his face, Fili took up his cup again. He fiddled with it a bit and then took another sip before looking at Bilbo again. “Do you really think that Ori wouldn’t mind?”

“I am sure of it.” Bilbo answered with conviction. 

Nodding, Fili leaned forward to put his empty cup down on the table and then got up from his chair. “I will think about it. I will have to take my leave now. Got to get back to work.” The hobbit followed suit and got up as well, leading Fili to the door. When Fili said goodbye he did forego the courtly manners for once and just touched his forehead to Bilbo’s, a clear sign that he was preoccupied with other thoughts already. 

Before the dwarf walked away, Bilbo held him back with a gentle touch to the shoulder. “Fili, can you promise me something?”

“Of course, Bilbo, whatever you wish.” Fili answered. 

“Promise me you will really consider asking Ori for help. You are the crownprince, but that doesn’t mean you have to dedicate your whole time to serving Erebor. Bofur has a right to your time as well.” Bilbo looked at Fili hopefully and was glad to see the prince nod gravely. 

“I am going to talk with Ori tomorrow and discuss with him how he can be further involved.” Fili said and then bowed and walked away swiftly. 

+++

The next morning Bilbo had to get up even earlier than normal, because the first meeting with the people of Dale was scheduled for lunch and there were a thousand things he had to do till then. While he was actually looking forward to seeing Bard again, he wasn’t happy about getting up even earlier than usual. At least he didn’t have to leave his quarters till lunch, the portrait sculptor came to him for a short sitting and while the dwarf quietly worked on the small plaster he was using as a model for the big stone carving, Bilbo read a small stack of missives and then read over the notes he had been given about the relations between Erebor and Dale, so that he wouldn’t make a mistake later. 

When the sculptor left, Bilbo got out his Khuzdul lessons and repeated his vocabulary for the week and then tried to recite his vows, but as usual got stuck somewhere in the middle. Leaving the part he couldn’t remember out, he just went on regardless and managed to recite the end without hesitating once. Maybe he would have to resort to Dis’ suggestion and just mumble a few minutes in the middle. With luck people would think he just had a terrible pronunciation. 

In no time at all it was almost noon and Bilbo had to get ready for the lunch appointment. Despite not really wanting to go to the meeting, Bilbo did his best to prepare. He always read the latest reports and together with the extra information he had gotten today he was fairly up to date with what was going on in Dale. To make a good impression, he took a bath, washed his hair and got dressed in his second best clothes. The only thing he still needed to take care of was brushing his feet. He always did this last, because it was soothing in a way and it didn’t make sense to brush your feet before getting dressed anyways. The hair would only get tousled again. 

After a last look in the long mirror in his clothes room, Bilbo went to fetch his foot brush and comb, along with the small pair of scissors he used to trim his hair and then sat down in his favourite chair in front of the hearth to put his feet to order. 

He’d just combed through the worst tangles, when, after a sharp knock, Thorin entered the room. Bilbo looked up, slightly alarmed. He’d thought he had about half an hour left but Thorin probably wanted to pick him up on his way to the reception room. Looking from the smiling face of his dwarf to his own still rather tousled feet, Bilbo made a noise of despair. “Thorin! Do we have to go already? I thought I had some time left…”

Thorin came over to the hearth, sitting down in the chair opposite Bilbo and smiled at the hobbit. “Relax, Bilbo. You do have some time. I just came early to spend some time with you alone. As alone as we can be.” He threw a look at the door that he had left ajar. From his place Bilbo couldn’t see what was beyond, but he was sure that it was at least one guard. 

With a complaisant sigh Bilbo got back to the task at hand, or rather at foot. Thorin kept watching him for a while and then leaned forward. “May I?” the dwarf asked and picked up one of Bilbo’s feet from the small stool he had put them on, placing it in his lap. Then he picked up one of Bilbo’s combs and calmly started combing Bilbo’s foot. The hobbit’s mouth almost fell open. He managed to disguise it as a sort of yawn, but it was a close thing. Thorin had his eyes fixed on Bilbo’s foot and slowly dragged the comb through the thick curls, careful not to catch on any snags so he wouldn’t have noticed anyways. 

Now Bilbo had learned that for dwarves mutual grooming was a sign of deep affection and it was perfectly normal for courting couples, families and very close friends to comb, oil or braid each other’s hair and beard. It wasn’t even that much different for hobbits, at least when it concerned the hair on their heads. The hair on a hobbit’s feet however was an entirely different thing. You didn’t touch another hobbit’s feet, let alone start combing their foothair like that. Despite their tough soles, the top of a hobbit’s feet were quite sensitive and touching somebody like this was a rather intimate thing. It was something only couples did, especially the way Thorin was doing it now, letting Bilbo’s foot rest in his lap, one hand cupping the ankle while the other drew the comb through the hair. It was, Bilbo had no other word to describe it, quite erotic. 

And Thorin didn’t know that. Somehow this particular topic had never come up in conversation, so he wasn’t to blame. From Thorin’s point of view, he was just helping Bilbo get ready for a formal function, something he would have done for his nephews or his sister, or even Dwalin and Balin. From Bilbo’s point of view it was a completely different thing. From Bilbo’s point of view his fiancé was doing foreplay. And not only that, he was doing it after they had been forced to go through a spell of celibacy that had lasted almost eight months.   
Seemingly unaware of what his gently touch was doing to Bilbo, Thorin finished with the comb and picked up a brush with very dense, soft bristles, which was meant to give the hair a nice soft shine. He was sitting with his head bend over Bilbo’s foot, his long hair falling forward like a dark shining curtain on his left side where he hadn’t tucked it behind his ear. 

While Bilbo was very fond of the elegant braids that decorated Thorin’s now rather longish beard and kept it from bristling, he liked that Thorin didn’t put elaborate braids in his hair. That way it always flowed around his face in silky, dark waves. But right now Bilbo would have liked for him to have tucked his hair away, because not only was his dwarf brushing his foot with tender but thorough care, he also looked positively divine while doing it. Bilbo was certain, that he had never seen anything as beautiful as Thorin in that moment. 

He swallowed hard, as a tingling sensation began to spread through his body, starting at his foot and wandering up his legs, pooling warmly in his groin and then spreading out to every nerve end in his body. Suppressing a moan of pleasure, Bilbo bit his lip and just stared at Thorin, who seemed quite absorbed in his task, the fine bristles of the brush whispering as they slid over and through the hair on Bilbo’s foot, leaving it more shiny and neat with every stroke.

And then the blasted dwarf began to hum under his breath. He always did that when he was doing manual work, be it cooking, smithing or, it seemed, brushing a hobbit’s feet and as always Bilbo felt his heart swell with love for the dwarf. Like everything else about Thorin, his voice was exquisite. It was deep and warm and Bilbo would have liked to snuggle up to it, it sounded so comfortable.

This thought actually helped Bilbo fight against the swell of another part of his anatomy. While he didn’t generally mind that Thorin did have this effect on him and he would probably at some point have to tell the dwarf what grooming a hobbit’s feet entailed, he didn’t think now was the right time for either rampant body part or a talk about the peculiar and fascinating differences in dwarvish and hobbitish mating behaviour. 

Just when Bilbo was about to open his mouth to tell Thorin, that he should probably better stop what he was doing, there was another knock on his door and Balin entered without waiting for an answer. His cheeks were red and his breath was puffing as if he had been running, which he probably had, fearing that Thorin and Bilbo were together, alone and unsupervised, again. When he caught sight of Bilbo and Thorin, Balin let out a sigh of relief. Bilbo however, almost kicked Thorin in the groin in surprise at the old advisors sudden entrance. 

Not only had Balin rushed in so rapidly, he had also come at an intimate moment, that Bilbo would rather not have witnessed by somebody else. It didn’t matter that neither Thorin nor Balin seemed to know that for Bilbo being caught with his foot in his fiancé’s lap and having his hair brushed, was akin to being caught with Thorin’s hand down his trousers and obviously enjoying it. Luckily that had never happened. Not that there had been a chance for anything so naughty in all the time Bilbo had been in Erebor and Bilbo was heartily sick of that. 

“Oh good. You’re getting ready for the meeting.” Balin said and Bilbo felt a blush starting to creep up his neck when Thorin’s head went up very slowly, to nod at his old friend. ‘Getting ready indeed,’ Bilbo thought, ‘but more for a bedding than for a meeting.’ 

Out loud he said “Yes, quite. Urm, Thorin, I think that’s enough. Thank you very much, I appreciate your help, but I think I’m quicker if I do that myself.” With not quite steady hands, he took the brush out of Thorin’s hand and then retrieved his foot. Making quick work of it, he managed to put order into his feet with a few practised brushes, none of which had near the effect of Thorin’s touch. He’d never taken any satisfaction from brushing his own feet, apart from that which came from having neatly groomed feet and being complimented for them.   
Thorin just gave him a sweet smile and a nod and remained in his seat, watching Bilbo get ready. The way Thorin let his eyes wander over him was highly distracting, but by now Bilbo had years of practice of blocking out thoughts of Thorin and so he managed to make himself presentable without further incident. 

Then Thorin tucked Bilbo’s hand into the crook of his arm and lead him swiftly out of the room and down the many corridors and halls to one of the reception room, trailing an entourage of guards and councilmembers behind them. 

Since they weren’t married yet, Bilbo couldn’t sit next to Thorin, but was seated on a chair to the side of the room. He didn’t mind today, because this way he could watch a formal gathering like this without being the centre of everybody’s attention. Fili arrived only moments later and took a seat at Bilbo’s side. He was smiling happily, but just when Bilbo leaned over to ask him about his good mood, there was a noise at the door and the envoy from Dale was announced. Fili mouthed ‘Later.’ at Bilbo and then turned his attention to their visitors.   
Thorin greeted Bard friendly enough and after a short ceremonial exchange of greetings the whole gathering was lead from the reception room to a smaller room, where they were taking lunch. For this Bilbo was seated between Bard and one of his advisors, but since Thorin was talking to Bard on his other side, Bilbo was left to a rather forced chat with the man, who seemed intimidated into silence by the heavily armed dwarvish guards in the room. At least the food was good, but Bilbo still got rather bored and was glad, when lunch was over.

When Bard took his leave, he turned to Bilbo with a smile. “Master Baggins, I’m sorry be didn’t have a chance to talk today, but I’d would be delighted if you accepted an invitation to visit Dale tomorrow afternoon. We’ve done a lot of work in the last years, with help of the magnificent stonemasons from Erebor of course and it is quite changed from the last time you have been to Dale. The market is especially beautiful in the weeks leading up to Solstice, everybody makes an extra effort, and I would be happy to show you around for an hour of two. King Thorin has already expressed his interest in a visit and I’m sure that with your influence we can persuade him to come along.”   
Bard’s eyes twinkled with mirth and Bilbo shot Thorin a short look around the man. The dwarf was rolling his eyes, but didn’t look like he was totally against it, so Bilbo smiled at Bard, who had gone down on one knee to be more of a height with Bilbo. 

“I’m sure we can arrange that. And I’m sure we can fit it in tomorrow afternoon.” Bilbo answered, smiling brightly at the human. He didn’t even have to force the smile. For one thing Bard was one of the more handsome men Bilbo had met, the friendly crinkles around his eyes and his dark hair reminding the hobbit of his dwarf. For another the thought of visiting a Solstice market together with Thorin, even if it was an official thing, was something that delighted Bilbo. 

Of course he knew that the invitation wasn’t completely altruistic on Bard’s part. He wanted to strengthen the ties between Dale and Erebor and by having Thorin visit the market they were showing off their good relations in a nice, public way. 

“Wonderful.” Bard said and bowed at Bilbo, making it look graceful even though he was still kneeling. “We’ll have it arranged for tomorrow afternoon then.” Thorin scowled darkly over his shoulder now, but Bilbo kept smiling. 

When the men left, Fili sidled up to Bilbo. “I talked with Ori.” he told the hobbit as they walked out of the room together. Thorin was still standing in a corner, talking with Balin and shooting a stern look in Bilbo’s direction, that Bilbo answered with blowing him a kiss. Then he turned his attention to Fili again. “How did it go?”

Fili smiled happily. “He said he’d be delighted to take on a bit more responsibility and he told me of some ideas he had to hasten up some of the decisions. We’ve been arguing far too long and should finally get going. He has some really great ideas he wants to talk through with some of the miners we have on the team for consultation. And the best thing, he’s going to lead the inspection tomorrow, which leaves me with a free afternoon that I can spend with Bofur.” The look of elation on Fili’s face was almost painful in it’s brightness. 

Bilbo patted Fili’s arm happily as they walked along the corridor to his quarters. “That is great, Fili! I’m happy this all worked out so well.” Then a thought struck him. “Hey, if you’re free in the afternoon, why don’t you invite Bofur to a little stroll over the market in Dale? Thorin and I will be going as well, so the attention will be on us and you two could have a quiet look around. What do you think?”

“That does sound great! I’m sure Bofur would love that. You know, he has a small stand on the market and I wanted to look at that for ages, but have never gotten round to it.” Fili had hooked his arm with Bilbo’s, pulling the hobbit along at a faster pace than he would have chosen on his own, but he didn’t want to complain now when Fili was obviously so happy. 

“Great! So it’s almost like a family trip. Maybe we should invite Kili and Dis as well.” Bilbo mused and Fili started to chuckle. 

“Nah, I think Kili won’t come. He told me yesterday he was going to the library to check on some recipes.” Fili grinned down at Bilbo and slowed down a bit when he noticed he was dragging the hobbit. “Allegedly he wants to find a recipe for dwarfish cookies but I think he just wants to ogle at Ori for a bit.” They both chuckled. 

“So, you really think Kili has a thing for Ori?” Bilbo asked as they strolled down the corridor at a more sedate pace. 

“Oh yes, I’m quite sure. I had breakfast with mum and Kili this morning after my talk with Ori and mentioned that he would have a bit more on his plate now. Kili made an effort to sound uninterested but he tried to get as much information out of me as he could without downright asking for it.” Fili grinned broadly. “So, you think he’s got a chance?”

Bilbo weighed his head thoughtfully. “I can’t swear on it, but I think he might. They would make a cute couple, wouldn’t they?”

“Definitely.” Fili said. 

They parted ways at Bilbo’s door and Bilbo quickly rushed in to change his clothes and then went down to the infirmary for his weekly visit with the veterans and the sick.

When he came back to his quarters, a young dwarrowdam was waiting at his door, her arms full of fern branches. Bilbo smiled at the girl and greeted her. “Well, hello young lady. What can I do for you?”

The young dwarf had lovely golden blond hair and quite a luxurious beard for someone who was probably not even sixty yet, almost hiding the shy smile she was bestowing on Bilbo. “Are you Master Bilbo, sir?” she asked and her cheeks reddened charmingly under her beard. 

“Yes, my dear, I am. How can I help you?” Bilbo smiled at the girl kindly. 

The young dwarrowdam bowed. “My name is Anfri and I’m Dis’ apprentice. I mean I’m Lady Dis’ apprentice.” She blushed even more, having slipped in the form of address. “My lady told me to bring you these branches and a letter.” She fidgeted with her arm full of branches, trying and failing to free a hand and her face was so red now it was almost radiating heat. “It’s in my apron.” She finally said like it was a confession. 

“It’s nice to meet you Anfri. The Lady Dis speaks very highly of you. Why don’t you come in and I relief you of those braches and then you can deliver that letter as well.” Bilbo held open the door and led the girl inside. He took the fragrant branches from her arms and simply put them down on the table. 

The girl rummaged in the pocket of the leather apron she was wearing and produced a folded piece of parchment. Bilbo took it from her with a friendly thanks and motioned her to take a seat. Sitting down stiffly at the edge of a chair, the girl peered curiously around the room under her lashes, while Bilbo unfolded the parchment to read the short letter. Apparently Fili had told Dis that Bilbo hadn’t decorated his rooms and she had decided to send someone out to collect some fir braches to brighten up his spirits. She also assured Bilbo, that the trees wouldn’t suffer from the cuttings. 

Bilbo turned to the girl. “Would you wait while I write a quick answer and bring it to your mistress? Have some cookies while you wait.” He motioned to the plate with cookies on the small table next to the girl and then collected quill and paper to write a short note, thanking Dis for her thoughtful gift. 

When he had finished his thank you note, he folded it up and turned back to the girl. She had not moved from her spot and had not dared to touch the cookies. 

“Don’t you like cookies?” Bilbo asked and the girl jumped at being addressed. She got up from her chair, her hands clasping the front of her apron and twisting one of the straps securing it round her waist between her fingers. “I…I’m very sorry, Master Bilbo. I … have never had any. I wasn’t sure.” Anfri answered, the blush back on her cheeks. 

Bilbo stared at the girl in surprise and then asked. “What do you mean, you never had cookies? How can that be?”

Anfri stared at her boots and mumbled “We…my family lost everything when the dragon came. I was born in the Blue Mountains and we just returned to Erebor last year. We…” she broke off, but Bilbo understood. Her family must have been poor after losing everything to the dragon, just like almost everybody from Erebor. A luxury thing like cookies had apparently never been on the menu in the girl’s home. Bilbo remembered the delight with which the dwarves had eaten cookies at his home last year. For some of them it must have been the first time to have cookies as well. Since this seemed like a delicate subject for the girl, Bilbo thought he’d better talk about something else. 

“Oh, but you have to try these. They are my own recipe and I bet you’ll like them. Please have one and tell me what you think.” Bilbo encouraged the girl. Hesitantly she took one cookie and took a small bite, chewing it thoughtfully, swallowing and then she smiled at Bilbo. “They do taste very good.” She said. 

“I am very glad you think so. They were made after an old family recipe of mine. Lady Dis and Prince Kili baked them together with me.” Bilbo told the girl, who had nibbled another small bite of her cookie. She swallowed hastily and then asked “Dis, I mean Lady Dis made those together with you?”

Bilbo nodded, amused by her surprise. “Yes. Actually, Kili made the dough and Dis only helped cut it, but she was very good at that. Tell you what, Kili promised me some more cookies, so why don’t you take a few of these home to your family?” Bilbo rummaged around for a piece of parchment and quickly folded it into a paper cone, in which he put some cookies, making sure to get at least one of each shape. He held the bag out to the girl, who hesitated again. “It’s a tradition in the Shire to give a caller who comes with gifts something in return. So you must take these, please?” Bilbo said. 

“But I just brought the braches to you. The gift is from Lady Dis.” Anfri tried to fend off the present, although she eyed the small packet with a bit of longing. 

“But you brought it here and that is what counts. Please, it is a tradition in the Shire.” Bilbo coaxed and finally the young dwarrowdam took the cookies, looking very happy about the present. She practically beamed at Bilbo. “Thank you very much, Master Bilbo.”

“You are very welcome, Anfri. And don’t give any of those to Dis. She got her fair share and won’t need these.” 

The girl started to smile at that. “She isn’t keen on sweet things anyways.” she told Bilbo, a hint of cheekiness in her smile that made Bilbo laugh. Apparently the girl already knew Dis well by now and judging by the slips in address Anfri had made when talking about her mistress, Dis liked her so much as well, she let the girl call her by her first name. If she kept her good work up, she would go far. Bilbo, who had a thing for capable females, hoped she would.

“Well, you better get back to your mistress now. Thank you again for the delivery and give my heartfelt thanks to Dis.” Bilbo led the girl to the door, where she bowed again and then left. Wasting no time, Bilbo arranged the fir branches in vases and then took out the box with his ornaments again, hanging up a few. He got distracted halfway through by another emergency clothes fitting, but when Tunin left after an hour, Bilbo went back to his decorating immediately. When he had finished, the room looked much more like Solstice and Bilbo smiled to himself. He was actually starting to get into a Solstice mood now.

+++

Having something to look forward to, Bilbo felt the next day slipping by rather quickly. He hardly had time to get properly excited about the trip to Dale, when he already had to get ready. When Thorin picked him up, Bilbo was already dressed in warm furs and bouncing with excitement. They met up with Bofur and Fili in the stables, both wrapped up in warm clothes as well and smiling. Since they were a larger group today, Thorin couldn’t go out to Dale without a proper entourage, it took a while longer to get everybody sorted into sleighs, but then they all set off in a shower of snow, thrown up by the hooves of the goats and the sleighs’ runners. 

The sun was already low in the sky, but the drive to Dale was a relatively quick one and it was still light when they arrived. By the time the official greeting was over however, the sun had set. This wasn’t a drawback, as Bilbo discovered when they walked to the market. Lights had been lit everywhere, small lamps, candles and torches spilling warm yellow light on the snow and giving everything a welcoming sort of glow. The citizens of Dale had worked hard to rebuilt their city and Bilbo looked around, feeling impressed. Bard had been their guide so far, but now that they had arrived at the market, he told them to have a look around for themselves. Fili and Bofur had already set off alone and so Bilbo and Thorin followed suit. They were of course followed by a discreet set of guards at a distance, but since they wouldn’t have been alone on the crowded market anyways, Bilbo didn’t mind. 

Together they ambled around, stopping here and there to look at things and Bilbo revelled in the simple joy of having Thorin for himself. And Thorin seemed to feel the same way, making an effort to point things out among the stalls he thought Bilbo would find interesting and buying food for him, anticipating that his hobbit would get hungry at some point. As they shared sweet, sticky little cakes, spilling powdered sugar down their fronts as they ate, Bilbo looked up from their food to find Thorin smiling at him. The dwarves nose and cheeks were red from the cold, his eyes shining in the light from the many candles and torches and even with sugar in his beard he looked very lovely, especially with his smile. 

“You have some sugar on your face.” Thorin told Bilbo and reached out his hand to wipe a trace of sugar away from Bilbo’s chin with his thumb. Watching the dwarf then lick his sticky finger was a test in restraint for Bilbo. He wished he could have sucked the digit clean for Thorin, or maybe have Thorin lick his chin clean. Taking a deep breath, Bilbo chased those thoughts away and busied himself with the pastries, not looking up till they were all gone and his libido under control again. 

When the cold was starting to get rather fierce, people were starting to pack up their things and seeing that Bilbo was beginning to chatter his teeth, Thorin decided to wrap up their visit. After collecting their little envoy, they took leave of their host and then climbed back into their sleighs to drive back to Erebor. Bilbo saw Fili and Bofur holding hands and then snuggling up under a large blanket in their own sleigh.

Grinning to himself, Bilbo scooted closer to his own dwarf and sighed contently when Thorin put one arm around him and pulled him against his side. There was still a lot to do before the wedding and new things bound to come up every day, but at the moment Bilbo didn’t care about that. He was just happy that he had been able to spend the afternoon with Thorin today and would soon be allowed to spend the nights as well. He could hardly wait for Solstice to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That feet brushing thing was requested by Fredda. I hope it was ok? What do the others think?


	4. Here we come a-baking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bilbo is busy matchmaking and still hasn't figured out is vows. Oh dear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers,   
> I’M SOOOOOO SOORY! Really, I so wanted to write this faster, but my life has been completely insane. Before Christmas I got offered a very exciting new job starting next month, but accepting the offer means not only moving, but relocating to another country. So I’ve been hectically trying to wrap up my old job, hunting for a flat abroad online and without the chance to look at it (quite an experience) and generally do everything that you have to do when you move. Fun times. So that’s what has been keeping me from updating at the pace that I actually planned and still the story isn’t finished. But, I finally managed to snatch a few hours of time to get this chapter done and so here it is. 
> 
> It’s unbetaed, so if you find mistakes please let me know. 
> 
> Hope you all had wonderful holidays, with a lovely winter festival of your choice and that your start in the New Year has been a fantastic one.

Bilbo was still feeling a warm and happy glow when he woke up next morning and it carried him through the whole day. Neither the long etiquette lesson with Balin, nor another dark note from Tunin, saying that only two of the four outfits were ready, could stain his wonderful mood. He was feeling so happy, he didn’t even feel hungry so instead of going to the dining hall to eat, he used his lunch break to look for Ori in the library. 

The dwarf greeted Bilbo with an excited smile and then pulled him out of the main reading room to an adjacent office so they could talk. 

“Fili’s been to see me.” Ori told Bilbo and his eyes were shining. “I am to supervise the negotiations for opening the tunnels to the library for now. It’s been going on for ages, legal matters and mining regulations holding everything up. I’m wading through a sea of out of date laws and the like, trying to clear things up a bit.”

Bilbo would have thought that having to read through a veritable sea of mining regulations and old laws would rather make a person sad. But Ori sounded positively happy. The dwarf seemed to be glad about the challenge it seemed. “Rather you than me.” Bilbo told him and Ori laughed. 

“I know that it sounds boring, but it’s actually very fascinating. And I already have a few ideas.” Ori positively shimmered with energy and Bilbo was glad he had played a small part in procuring this opportunity for the dwarf. 

“I’m very happy for you. And I’m sure you’ll do great.” Bilbo patted Ori on the arm. 

The librarian smiled at Bilbo happily. “And Fili tells me I have you to thank for this honour.”

“Least I could do.” Bilbo answered. “You are the smartest dwarf I know, can’t have that talent go to waste. It’s my duty as future consort to make sure we have the best dwarves working for us.”

This appraisal of his talent seemed to embarrass the Ori a bit, but he also looked pleased about it. “And speaking about working for you, your highness, we have to get back to those vows.” Ori said, with a surprisingly cheeky inflection on the words ‘your highness’. 

“But do you still have time for that?” Bilbo asked. He didn’t want to pile even more work on Ori, but the young dwarf waved a dismissive hand. “Of course I do. I promised I would help you. Do you have time now?”

With a sigh, Bilbo shook his head. “No, I’m expected to inspect the school in half an hour.” Bilbo had been looking forward to this, because something he missed very much in Erebor were visits by the fauntlings of the village, who had always loved to come by and listen to one of Bilbo’s stories. Although Bilbo had never felt the keen wish to have fauntlings of his own, he was very fond of his young cousins, nieces and nephews and enjoyed their company. 

While the Shire was positively teeming with little hobbits, there were hardly any dwarflings in Erebor. So far Bilbo had only caught glimpses of them, being shepherded along the corridors by their families and he was looking forward to meeting the youngest inhabitants of the mountain. He wondered if the young dwarves were very different from young hobbits. Despite his curiosity, with the wedding coming up and his vows still not put to memory however, Bilbo would have actually rather spend the afternoon with Ori, but he couldn’t just ditch his appointments on such short notice. 

With a cooing noise, Ori clasped his hands in front of his chest, looking pleased for Bilbo’s sake. “Oh, but that’s lovely! I’m sure you’ll enjoy that. At least I enjoyed my schooldays. It was a bit different in those days. In the Blue Mountains. Not as organised. Anyways, just come round whenever you have time. I’m usually here, at least if I’m not in a meeting.” Ori accompanied Bilbo to the door again and Bilbo thanked him and then rushed off to have a quick bite before meeting with Gloin, who had taken over responsibility for the school when it had opened in Erebor two years ago.

The rooms housing the school were surprisingly close to Bilbo’s quarters, considering that he had been in Erebor three month and not seen much of the pupils. “How come the school is down here?” Bilbo asked. Erebor was a large place and the living quarters for most dwarves were closer to the forges, which were situated to the sides of the mountain, while Bilbo’s quarters and the school were deep down in the mountain on the lower levels.

Gloin smiled at Bilbo through his red beard. “Because this is where we keep the things that are most precious to us. Safe in the mountain.” This made sense to Bilbo, who knew from his own experience that dwarves were very protective about the things and people they loved and would do everything in their power to keep them safe. 

“So, what kind of things do dwarves learn in school?” Apart from the usual things like reading, writing and a bit of adding and subtracting, Bilbo couldn’t imagine what dwarves thought were things that a young dwarfling had to learn to be prepared for life.

Gloin ambled comfortable down the corridor next to Bilbo. Unlike most other members of the company, Gloin revelled in his wealth. He had been relatively wealthy before they had reclaimed the mountain, so he had been used to more luxury than the others anyways. Now his clothes were of the finest material that could be bought in Erebor, he was wearing large, glittering rings on every finger and the beads in his beard and hair were small pieces of art. Somehow, even decked out with so much finery, he still managed to make it look tasteful. And with the large axe he was wearing on his belt, nobody was going to say anything else about it anyways. 

“Oh, lots of things.” the dwarf said in answer to Bilbo’s question. “Reading and writing runes for one thing. And the mine signs. Mathematics are very important, too. You need that everywhere, in the mines, in the forges, as a banker…” Gloin laughed a rumbling laugh and stroked his beard. “Then there is a lot of history to learn. And the basic principles of most of the dwarvish trades. We want our dwarflings to know a bit about every trade, so when they leave school, they can decide which is one they want to learn. But,” Gloin stopped in front of a blank wall halfway down a corridor, “you’ll see some of it for yourself now. And probably be made part of a lesson, if I know my teachers correctly.”

Bilbo stopped next to Gloin, looking around in confusion for a sign why the dwarf had stopped here. There was nothing but bare walls on this corridor, nothing to suggest that a school was nearby. But then Oin touched the wall, drawing something on the greenish stone and suddenly the outlines of a door appeared. “Dwarf door.” Gloin explained to an open mouthed Bilbo. “You have to draw the correct rune in the correct place and the door opens.” 

Then he pushed against the stone, the door swung inside smoothly and Gloin ushered Bilbo inside. They were in a small antechamber with several doors leading off. Gloin knocked on one and then entered, waving Bilbo to follow him. The room they stepped into was much like the schoolroom in the town hall in Hobbiton in which Bilbo had sat in as a fauntling, but unlike the lively fauntlings, scrambling over tables and chairs and making a lot of noise, the dwarflings sat quietly in their seats, all heads bend over their slate plates, writing busily. Only a few of them looked up at Gloin’s and Bilbo’s entrance and those that did, turned their attention quickly back to their task after sneaking a look. 

The youngest pupils sat in the seats directly in front of the room, the others hierarchised according to their age in the seats behind them. In the front of the room, in front of a large blackboard made from the same dark green slate that the little dwarflings were writing on, stood a dwarrowdam with an enormously round belly. She was quite obviously pregnant but she still moved swiftly around the tables to greet Bilbo and Gloin. Her bow was more of a nod really, because of her huge belly, but her warm smile was enough of a welcome for Bilbo. 

“Welcome, Master Baggins.” she said in a low voice and Bilbo bowed back. “My name is Thes and I am the head mistress and mathematics teacher of the school. It’s lovely of you to visit us, the pupils have been talking about the upcoming wedding and are very excited to meet you in person. None of them has been to the Shire and they are rather curious about your people. I hope you won’t mind answering a few questions? Tell us a bit about your home?” The dwarrowdam beamed at Bilbo, who bowed again, smiling to himself. Gloin had been right, his visit was turned into a lesson. “It’ll be my pleasure.” He said and meant it. Not only did he love talking about the Shire, he also thought this was a good way to introduce the dwarflings to other parts of their world.

Thes squeezed Bilbo’s arm with a smile. “I will introduce you then, shall I? Gloin, please take a seat.” She pointed to a chair at the side of the room, where Gloin sat down quietly and then took Bilbo to the front of the class. The pupils were still disciplined writing on their slates, seemingly not interested in what was going on. 

“Pupils, please stop with your assignments for a moment.” the dwarrowdam said and immediately all the dwarflings put down their chalk and looked up, staring with bright interested eyes at their schoolmistress. 

Now that their heads were no longer bowed over their slates, Bilbo could see the faces of the young dwarfs. His first thought was, that from up close they didn’t look that different from fauntlings. Their hair was longer, most of them wore it in complicated braids and almost all of the dwarflings had a soft looking down on their cheeks. Some of the older ones at the back of the room were already sporting whiskers, proudly decorated with tiny beads. But the bright eyes, the round cheeks and chubby fingers of the smallest dwarflings were much like those of the fauntlings that had crowded Bilbo’s library in Bag End to hear stories. Bilbo felt a short, sharp rush of homesickness, but then Thes spoke to the class and he turned to listen as well. 

“I think you talked about the kingdom’s dynasties last week with your history master Frari and in course of this you touched upon the upcoming wedding of our king. Now we have the great honour to be visited by the future consort, Master Baggins. Please stand up and greet our visitor.” As soon as the words had left her mouth, the dwarflings all got up from their seats, bowing at Bilbo and shouting the traditional khuzdul greeting him in cheerful unison. With a smile Bilbo bowed back and answered in kind, although not as loud. 

“You all know Master Gloin from the school board of course.” Thes went on, sweeping her belly round to wave an indicating hand at Gloin and the dwarflings greeted the dwarf as well. 

“Now, as you have learned last week, the king’s consort is not a dwarf but a hobbit from the Shire.” Thes turned to Bilbo with a smile. “The dwarflings are very curious about the home of our king’s consort. So please tell us a bit about the Shire, Master Baggins.”

“Of course!” Bilbo said and then stood on front of the class, while Thes sat down on a chair next to Gloin, her beard forking over her stomach. She leaned back with the content smile of a pregnant woman that had gotten off her feet at last and Bilbo started talking about the Shire. He talked about the lovely green hills and little valleys, the smials built into the hills, about feasts and food, about large families and everything he could think off. The dwarflings stared at him in fascination and Bilbo felt transported back to his library, where he would sit in a chair by the fire, reading fairy tales to his small cousins, nephews and nieces and inventing adventures for them.

“Well, and that is where I come from.” he finally closed and immediately a few hands shot up in the air. 

“Would it be alright if the pupils asked you a few questions, Master Baggins?” Thes asked from the side, and laboriously got up from her seat. Once on her feet she moved swiftly again, coming to stand next to Bilbo at the front of the class.   
“Yes of course!” Bilbo said and then proceeded to answer questions about his large, hairy feet, his hairless face and about families with as much as 14 siblings. All this was utterly strange and exciting for the dwarflings. Then one dwarfling asked about Solstice in the Shire and Bilbo happily launched into telling them about every tradition he could think of. 

This especially seemed to delight the young dwarves. Then one small boy raised his hand. He looked strangely familiar to Bilbo and he realised why, when the boy shyly asked about Solstice cookies. Apparently he was the younger brother of Dis’ apprentice Anfri, had sampled the cookies Bilbo had given to his older sister and now wanted to know what the deal with them was. 

“Well, baking Solstice cookies is a very big thing in the Shire in the time leading up to the festival.” Bilbo told the dwarflings, who were all listening with rapt attention. “The special thing about them is not really the dough, but that they are cut in special shapes; stars, fir trees, moons, bells, candles, things to do with Solstice basically. But most people also have cutters in more unusual shapes. I have one shaped like a cat for example. Prince Kili is rather fond of that one. I think I must have it somewhere in my boxes. Aww, if I had known we were talking about Solstice cookies, I would have brought it with me to show you.”

“Can’t you come back tomorrow and show it to us then, Master Baggins?” a small girl piped up. 

Thes smiled. “Today is the penultimate day of school before we take our Solstice break, remember? And Master Baggins has a lot of things to do before the wedding, which is already next week. I don’t think he will have time for another visit.”  
The dwarflings all made a sound of disappointment which made Bilbo’s heart melt a bit. And then he had an idea. He motioned Thes to the side and conversed with her in a whisper. She nodded along and then patted his shoulder gently. “That would be very lovely, Master Baggins, do you think you can arrange that?”

Bilbo grinned. “Yes, I’m certain I can. Can I tell the dwarflings?” Thes nodded and Bilbo turned back to the class with a broad smile. “I had a wonderful idea. Prince Kili has learned from me how to make cookies, he has become quite the master baker by now and I am going to ask him if he agrees to meeting with you in the kitchens tomorrow to make some cookies.”

The dwarflings, who up until now had been very disciplined and fairly quiet, erupted in cheers. “Can’t you come as well, Master Baggins?” Anfri’s brother asked through the clamour. Bilbo shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t. The king’s consort isn’t allowed in the kitchens. But I assure you that Kili is more than able to show you how to bake cookies.” 

They only had a few more minutes before Gloin told Bilbo that they had to go now and then they said goodbye with a bow to the schoolmistress Thes and a wave to the dwarflings. 

“That was a lot of fun!” Bilbo told Gloin, when they walked back to Bilbo’s quarters. Gloin smiled. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. I’ve always been very fond of school myself. It starts and ends with good teachers, I suppose, and luckily I have always been blessed with good ones, both in my life as pupil and as member of the school board. But tell me, how are you going to arrange the baking? Do you really think that Kili will have time for this?”

Bilbo tapped his nose with his finger “Oh, I’m sure he will. And once I have his consent, I just have to send a messenger round to mistress Thes and tell her when and where to be with the children tomorrow.” Gloin left Bilbo at his door and turned round again, disappearing round the corner. Bilbo didn’t even stop in his rooms and instead quickly made his way to the library. He had not planned another visit there today, but he suspected he might find Kili lurking around Ori again. And his suspicion was proved right. The prince was in the library, sitting at a desk and pouring over several large volumes. Bilbo walked straight over to him and enjoyed the caught expression on Kili’s face. 

“Hello Kili! I’m so glad to find you here.” Bilbo said and then craned his neck to see what Kili was reading. A grin spread over the hobbit’s face. “And isn’t that fitting, you are actually looking at recipes. I have a proposition for you that must be right up your alley.” Not giving the dwarf time to argue, Bilbo explained what he wanted him to do. Although Kili looked sympathetic, he was weighing his head in a way that suggested, he wasn’t going to agree as easily as Bilbo would have thought. 

But then a thing happened, that not only eased the whole thing, but confirmed Bilbo’s notion that Kili was harbouring more than just friendly feelings for Ori. The librarian had apparently seen that Bilbo had entered the library and now came over to greet him. He would have walked back again, leaving them to their talk but Bilbo held him back. “Ori, maybe you can help me persuade Kili here to help me. You know I’ve been visiting the school earlier. And we came to talk about solstice cookies. I told you about that tradition in the Shire , didn’t I?” Ori nodded and Bilbo continued. “I’m certain none of the dwarflings has ever eaten solstice cookies. I mean, some of them probably have never had cookies before! I thought it would be a nice thing to make some with them. But you know that I can’t go into the kitchens, but Kili here can and he’s such a good baker,” Bilbo sneaked a glance at Kili, who tried and failed to look modest at the praise, “and here he is, looking for dwarfish recipes! Now I’m asking you, who could be better to help me with this?”

Ori blinked slowly and looked from Bilbo to Kili and back. “It does sound like a very lovely idea, Bilbo, but if Kili doesn’t want to…” 

At that Kili perked up, looking slightly offended. “I never said I didn’t want to. It’s just that I don’t know if I have the time. Or if I’m actually allowed to do that.”

Bilbo waved a dismissive hand. „Oh, I’m sure you are allowed to. You’ve been allowed there before, why not now?“

Kili pushed himself back till his chair was standing on its hind legs and made a pondering face as he gripped the edge of the table to keep his balance. ”Mmmm, I guess it would be kind of fun.” He looked at Bilbo, who had started to grin broadly. The young dwarf raised his hands in a defensive way, which caused the chair to crash back to the ground and earned Kili a reproving look from Ori. “Sorry Ori. And, I didn‘t say I’m doing it. Just that it would be fun…”

Both Ori and Bilbo looked at Kili, who finally threw up his hands in defeat. “Alright, alright. I’m doing it. But…” he went on before Bilbo started to cheer, “I do need some help. Making cookie dough for so many dwarflings is bound to take some time. I mean I am good, but that’s a bit much for one dwarf.” A sly smile creped over Kili’s face as he looked up under his lashes to Bilbo and Ori. “And since Bilbo can’t come to the kitchen and you think this is such a good idea, Ori, you will have to come along and help me.” 

This was turning out even better than Bilbo would have thought. Kili was going to help him with spreading some Solstice joy and he was trying to rope Ori in to help too. The young librarian looked rather surprised at being called on to aid Kili and edged a bit away from Bilbo but didn’t look like he was absolutely against the idea. 

Bilbo held him back with a gentle touch in the arm and turned to him. “Oh Ori, would you do that? I mean, do you have the time? I know that you are rather busy, what with all your new responsibilities, but this is a good cause and I’m sure that if you work together you wouldn’t need more than maybe an hour or two to prepare enough dough.”

Kili seemed to have warmed up to the idea by now. He got up from his chair and moved around the desk to stand on Ori’s other side, grabbing hold of his arm and pleading with him with a very winning smile. “Yes please, Ori! I really do need help and I don’t know who else to ask! And I think you need to get out of the library for a bit. You spend too much time with books and not among friends. It’s been ages since we last did something together. And this is going to be so much fun! You could come along to bake the cookies too. Have you ever had some of Bilbo’s Solstice cookies? They are delicious! Oh, this is going to be wonderful!”

Looking from one smiling face to the other, Ori finally also started to smile softly and then nodded his consent, leaving Bilbo and Kili to whoop with joy. Kili even hugged the other dwarf, leaving him with red cheeks and a sheepish look on his face. Bilbo smiled inwardly. Now that Kili had caught flame, he behaved like the whole thing had been his idea. He started to chatter happily about what he had to prepare before they could get going, whether Ori should come to the kitchens right away or if Kili was going to pick him up when everything was ready and how much fun all this was going to be.   
“So I can let Mistress Thes know that she can meet you at the kitchens tomorrow and that you will help her with the dwarflings?” Bilbo interrupted the joyful flow of words. 

“Sure! When do their lessons start? It used to be eight in the morning in the Blue Mountains, it’s the same here, right? I think it would be best to let them assemble at school first and then come to the kitchens together. So maybe we meet for their second period? And what do you think, how much dough should we prepare? Twenty times the amount I did last time?” Kili tapped a finger to his lip as he calculated the ingredients he was going to need.

“Maybe not twenty times!” Bilbo hastily tried to check Kili’s enthusiasm. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea after all. Kili’s eyes were glittering with his usual mischievous eagerness and Bilbo only knew too well what he could achieve when nobody was there to lead his excitement in the proper channels. The hobbit could just imagine the kitchen drowning in heaps of cookie dough. And if it got out that he had put the prince on to this, he would have more to worry about than just remembering a few words in Khuzdul.

But if Bilbo hadn’t been wise in his choice of main agent for his scheme, the person he had chosen as a helper was definitely up to the job. Ori moved round the table and pulled a piece of paper and the ink pot with a quill towards him. Seating himself in the chair Kili had vacated, Ori looked up at the other dwarf, quill poised over the paper, ready to write. “Let’s plan this properly, what amount of which ingredients do you use for your usual amount of dough? And how many cookies does that make, approximately? There are 29 pupils in the school at the moment, if I’m informed correctly? We want to make sure they all take some cookies home, but we shouldn’t overdo the whole thing. I guess the mistresses and masters in the kitchens won’t thank us, if we create so much chaos in their realm.” 

The quiet and organised authority with which Ori took charge of things calmed Bilbo’s worries and he left the two dwarves to their planning. 

He arrived back in his rooms, feeling a bit tired now, but there was no time to take a break. Instead Bilbo started to root through the boxes that still stood unopened in his rooms, searching for his own cookie cutters. He was lucky to find them in the third box he opened and then send them to Kili’s quarters immediately, together with a note asking Kili to please be careful with the cutters and return them to Bilbo when he was done using them with the dwarflings. 

Then he quickly changed into a more formal outfit, because this afternoon’s schedule included a meeting with Lord Elrond, who had arrived this morning. Bilbo was looking forward to meeting the elf again, but just like he had felt about the meeting with Bard, Bilbo thought that he could have spent his time better than sitting around chatting. 

He gave his feet a quick brush, the thought of Thorin doing it a few days ago entered his mind unbidden and had to be firmly put aside, and then he opened his door, only to almost run into the dwarf king. 

“Thorin! What are you doing here? Aren’t we to meet in the audience chamber?” Bilbo asked anxiously, afraid that he was running late and Thorin had come to hurry him up.

Thorin looked at him with a fake wounded look on his face. “Is this how you greet your future husband? Are you not happy to see me?” he asked, ignoring Bilbo’s questions, crossing his arms in front of his chest and making a moue. 

Breaking out in a laugh, Bilbo put his hands on Thorin’s arms and stood on tiptoes to give his fiancé a kiss. “I’m sorry Thorin! Of course I’m happy to see you, I just thought we were to meet in the audience chamber. I was afraid of running late again.”

This seemed to placate Thorin, who leaned down to receive the kiss and then smiled at his hobbit. “That was the original plan. But I was early and wanted to accompany you. I was hoping to be early enough to spend a few minutes with you alone and help you get ready, but I guess I’m not lucky today.” Thorin treated Bilbo to a rather shameless once over, ending with a last long stare of Bilbo’s neatly brushed feet, which made Bilbo blush a bit. 

“Yes, about that, Thorin…” he started to say but at that moment two guards came puffing around the corner, obviously in pursuit of Thorin who seemed to have given them the slip again. If Bilbo was a tiny bit uncomfortable to discuss the sexual habits of hobbits when he was alone with Thorin, he would be damned before he started chatting about making out in front of strange guards. “Oh well, I think we better get going, we are going to be late.” He said instead and pulled Thorin along, the slightly breathless guards trailing along behind them. 

They arrived at the audience chamber in good time to be quietly scolded by Balin for always running away from the guards and then they were seated in their chairs to welcome the elf. Lord Elrond and his entourage entered the chamber with the usual elegant strides of their race, their long robes billowing around them on each step. Bilbo was glad to see that Thorin was being polite with his guests for once and actually got up from his seat and took one step forward to greet Lord Elrond. It mattered to Bilbo that Thorin and Lord Elrond got along at least tolerably well. On his journey home from Erebor after the battle, Bilbo had stopped over for a few weeks in Rivendell and enjoyed the elf’s hospitality. They had started exchanging regular letters afterwards. To Thorin’s usually not quite thoroughly veiled dislike Bilbo was fascinated by the elves and their culture, which on the first view seemed so much more refined than dwarvish culture. 

Of course Bilbo knew that the dwarves were lovers of the arts, be it craftsmanship or music and literature, but somehow the elves managed to appear more sophisticated. Apart from all that Bilbo simply liked Elrond and had enjoyed the conversations with him, be it in person or via letter and he just wanted his friend and his husband to get along.   
The elf followed protocol in greeting Thorin first and exchanging ritual words and gifts, but then he turned to Bilbo with a warm smile and a bow. “Master Baggins, it’s good to see you again. And under such auspicious circumstances! I wish you joy for your upcoming wedding.”

“Welcome, my Lord Elrond! I trust that you had a good journey?” Bilbo bowed back. They talked pleasantly for a few minutes while Thorin actually smiled at their animated conversation. Finally Lord Elrond took his leave and Bilbo was whisked away by Balin for another planning season. 

Today they went to the Throne room, which was only ever used for the grand official events and remained empty most of the time but was now teeming with dwarves who cleaned and decorated the halls for the wedding. Fili was waiting at the main entrance and then helped them with a walk-through through the wedding ceremony. Due to the fact that Balin had coached Bilbo for this for a good while now, everything went pretty smoothly and to Bilbo’s immense relief Balin didn’t make him go through his vows. He didn’t fancy blundering in front of Fili and Balin only a few days before the wedding.  
When Bilbo arrived in his chambers again in the evening, he was almost too tired to eat, but the lovely scent of onion soup and fresh bread that was delivered to his dining room proved to be too tempting. But then he nodded off after sitting down in his favourite chair in front of the fire immediately. He was woken up a bit later by a knock on the door and found Ori standing in front of it. “Hello Bilbo! Sorry for disturbing you, I just wanted to let you know how things stand with the cookies.”

Bilbo had to blink a few times to clear his head, but then he remembered that Ori had been roped into helping Kili with the Solstice cookies so he waved the dwarf in and lead him to the hearth, where he put another log on the glowing ambers. “So, how has it been going so far?” Bilbo asked, after he was seated again. 

Ori smiled his usual gentle smile, his face illuminated by the flames that were staring to lick hungrily at the dry wood. “It went quite well actually. Kili was very good with everything, maybe a bit over enthusiastic…” here Ori seemed to blush a bit and quickly went on “but once we had settled on the amount of dough to make he was rather organized. He really seems to know what he’s doing. And the cooks didn’t object to him being there. They found the idea if baking with the dwarflings rather good. We got offered a lot of help.”

These were very pleasing news and Bilbo leaned back contently. “So the dough is ready?”

Ori nodded. “Yes, the dough is ready and in the cooling chamber for the night. And I have to admit that I was really curious. I never made cookies myself before. Dori was always more of a cake person.” The rueful look Ori gave Bilbo upon this confession made the hobbit laugh. 

“So, does that mean you’ll help Kili tomorrow as well?” he asked, secretly holding his thumbs. This was a great opportunity for Kili to show Ori that he had a bit of a soft and caring side to himself.

“Yes, I promised I would. I will get up a bit earlier to get a bit of work done in the library, while Kili gets everything ready in the and then I’ll come over to help with the baking. He said it would be a bit easier with more people looking after the dwarflings and he is probably right. And to be honest, I really want to see how the cookies turn out. I never knew baking would be so much fun. We even tried the raw dough! Dori never let me eat the raw cake dough.” Ori told Bilbo in a tone of confession and Bilbo laughed again. “Oh yes, Kili is rather keen on sampling the dough, isn’t he?” 

Again Ori looked like he was caught between embarrassment and amusement when talking about Kili, but he nodded. “Yes, he is. But we didn’t eat much!” he went on to defend himself and the prince. “And we made quite a lot in the first place, so there will be enough for all the dwarflings.”

“Oh, I completely trust your assessment regarding the quantity of dough.” Bilbo told Ori. “And I’m happy you are helping Kili. The whole thing could get a bit messy, if he was left to his own devices.”

Bilbo was surprised to see Ori shaking his head. “I think he’d be completely fine. He seems a bit wild most of the time but I reckon he can be organised when he wants to be.”

Pulling up his eyebrows, Bilbo surveyed Ori closely. “Do you now?”

Instead of blushing, like Bilbo would have expected, Ori nodded his head firmly. “Yes. I do. In fact…” there was a slight pause in which Ori seemed to steel himself for what he had to say next. “In fact I think he is an amazing dwarf. I like him a lot. I…Actually I think I’m a bit in love with him.”

This confession Bilbo had not expected, so he gaped open mouthed at Ori for a while. Ori looked back at him calmly, only two small red patches high on his cheeks betraying that he wasn’t as cool about what he just said then he would like to appear. “Well…that is…that is quite lovely, I think.” Bilbo finally managed. “I mean…Yes, it’s really very lovely!”

Ori huffed in amusement. “Thanks. So, Bilbo. I haven’t talked about this with anybody yet. I mean Dori would just try to talk me out of it and Nori would egg me on and the others would probably just make rude remarks. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. I’ve liked Kili from the first moment we met. As friends first and it was like that for years. But for the last year or so, I started to see more in him. At first I thought it was just a bit of a crush, but now I think it’s more and I guess I really need to talk with Kili about this. But…I want a bit of advice before I do that. You know Kili better than I do. Or maybe not better, but different. You see him with different eyes, being the future consort. You know what I mean?”   
Bilbo nodded mutely to the question and Ori went on “So. Do you think that I have a chance with him? Do you think he could be interested in me in more than just a friendly way? Because I have noticed that he hangs around the library a lot, but that could be about something else and he’s always touching me, but he is a bit more touchy than others, so that could also be wishful thinking on my part. And I don’t want to make a fool of myself, propositioning him when he’s completely uninterested. So, do what do you say?”

Chuckling over this rather elaborate little speech, Bilbo scooted forward in his chair to take Ori’s hand and pat it reassuringly. “Well, I would say that he is interested in you. I also noticed that he spends a lot of time in the library and if it was about some crazy scheme of his, he couldn’t have kept quiet about it for so long. And he does seem to try and look good in front of you. So yes, I think you have a good chance and you should definitely talk with him.”

A bright smile appeared on Ori’s face and he grabbed Bilbo’s hand with both of his. “It’s settled then. I’ll make him confess his feelings.”

“That’s grea…Sorry, I think I heard that wrong. You what?” Bilbo asked.

Ori’s smile turned rather wicked, a look that Bilbo had seldom seen on him and which reminded the hobbit that Ori had a brother like Nori and that there probably were a few traits the brothers shared, apart from their red hair. “Oh, I reckon he’d be wanting to be the one to make the first move. So I’ll just have to encourage him a bit.”

“Encourage him?” Bilbo asked astounded. “And how would that go?”

Tapping his nose with a knowing look, Ori got up from his chair. “Oh, I have a few ideas. Solstice is after all a time to share love.”

He didn’t seem to want to go into further detail and since Bilbo thought that he’d been blessed with enough of Ori’s confidence tonight, didn’t try to pry. “I wish you luck then.” he told Ori, as he led him to the door. 

“Thanks.” The dwarf said simply and then bowed his goodbye and left. Shaking his head in a bemused fashion, Bilbo doused the fire in the hearth and then went to bed, thinking that the spirit of Solstice was definitely starting to be in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many loose ends! Oh dear, what have I done?

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!


End file.
